"Destiny?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely as Ed narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Yes, Edward, the fate of the Forbidden Forest rests in your hands," his eyes twinkled with uncertainty, "and maybe even with the people you had last met."

Ed struggled to figure out what the man meant. He could not have been talking about the bonds, the tendrils of light inside Ed's mind were comforting but he could not help think that the situation would lead to a bad ordeal.

"What do you mean?" Ed asked with a cautious tone in his voice.

Dumbledore's lips twisted into a frown, "the forest and its creatures are of a magical nature." Ed knew that the second he met the centaurs, the suspicions of the energy in the air from before was confirmed and there was always a thrumming beneath his fingertips.

"Before the Angel from the creature's tale came down with the magical artifact, war and chaos was spread amongst the land.

"Humans thought magical creatures were evil beings and made it their mission to hunt them down for killing and their valuable corpses."

Ed's face twisted into a grimace as a memory of Nina Tucker, a cross between a dog and a little girl flashed into his mind, along with what had been left of her after Scar had reached her.

"So, who was the Angel really?" Ed asked, ignoring the sudden buzzing in the back of his mind.

Dumbledore shook his head, "nobody knows, and if they did—they wouldn't tell humans. As we are the enemy, except," Dumbledore paused, "You."

The buzzing grew in intensity, Reality reeling in some sort of bitter rage as Ed sputtered out, "What?"

Dumbledore stood slowly, blue eyes staring down at him with weariness and exhaustion.

"You, Edward Elric, are the new guardian of the light of protection."

Ed felt his eyes lower, fists clenched in the sheets, as the old man left the room. It was the same as the creatures of the forest; Ed was nothing but a means to an end.

They saw him as some hero; a savior.

But they hadn't yet realized his own sins. Ed was no angel.

The buzzing inside Ed's head was still there, even after what felt like an hour as he sat on the bed contemplating on what to do. A prophecy? Magic? Creatures?

This world made no sense. There was no balance, no one is all and all is one. It was like a huge sham. Ed reached up to cup his burning throat. He had not eaten or drank anything for who knows how long, his stomach was a hollow hole and the constant thrumming in Ed's mind was making his head spin.

It felt so suffocating.

Ed wanted to punch something—someone and scream out his frustration with a few well-placed curse words he had heard from Havoc.

Damn it.

Think about Al.

The flashes of what Ed remembered of Al's human face, along with his soul connected to armor helm with the glowing red eyes appeared in his mind. Flash after flash of Al's kindness, and love for his older brother.

I was a shitty older brother. Ed thought bitterly to himself, and stiffened as a knock sounded from the door.

"Come in," Ed rasped out. A white blond head poked itself between the open door and Ed felt the tug of the bond between him and Luna as she said dreamily, "There's a spider here to see you…the Nargles couldn't keep him out…"

Ed huffed, having no doubt about what spider she was talking about. Ed waved a hand, "Let him in, it's fine."

Luna gave a small nod, letting the door open wider and Gurdon slipped in with his sleek black hair and eager to please eyes. Luna silently shut the door close.

"My Liege, I was so worried—"

"—cut it out, Gurdon, what is it?" Ed snapped out, irritated, not in any mood to take in the man's urge to kiss up to him.

The Spider King did not flinch but with a grave voice uttered out, "The Forest is in disarray, My Liege. War is soon to break out amongst all."

Ed ran a shaky hand through his bangs as he spoke with a cold tone, "War? Between whom? What the hell are they doing?"

The centaurs did not go into conflict without a reason, the Thestrals had already seen enough death that they would not willingly put themselves in such a situation, and the wolves stayed away from the others, isolated and keeping to themselves.

The Spider King shook his head, "You do not understand, the orb has been infected with a seed of evil," Gurdon's eyes sparked with anguish, "until a guardian, or someone, is able to remove that evil—it will spread among us all."

"What are the spiders doing?" Ed barked out, golden eyes flashing, head spinning with the situation.

"We are preparing for war. As is every other creature of the forest," Gurdon advanced toward Ed, eyes wild, "The Wolves—Lycaons—they are ready to attack the," Gurdon halted, searching for the word, "What humans call Vampires, they are ready, at any cost, to defend themselves against the Sanguine."

"The centaurs?" Ed rasped out, sweat trickling down his neck, and his breathing getting shallow. "They await your arrival; I'm here to escort you."

Gurdon's hand landed on Ed's shoulder, and Ed felt all those lives crashing down at him at once. All those creatures, waiting for him to dispel some evil force, or they would be driven crazy. With the orb gone, the forest would descend into Chaos; Humanity would hunt the supernatural again.

"Are you alright, My Liege? I should let you rest before we go, it is still too soon—"

Ed shook his head, pushing the hand off and standing with shaky legs, or leg. "We need to go; we need to go right now."

Gurdon did not look convinced but Ed pushed ahead of him, opening the door and staggering out.

The hall was dark and gloomy, with what looked like some spider webs hanging in the corners, and Ed made his way to the staircase, which looked like it had been rotting over the years with some sort of tar or grease.

Ed made note of the Spider king's, or aranea, judging by how they often more than not used the old language of the forest to call themselves. Ed silently glided down the stairs; rambunctious noise coming from the right side of the hallway, an open door where Ed assumed was a dining room or a kitchen, with light pouring out.

A hand halted Ed on his shoulder as he reached the last step, the Aranea King giving him an apologetic look before pointing to the right, "The exit is through there, My Liege."

A suspicious glance was given towards the spider, Ed sensing something amiss about his behavior, and as Ed reached the merry room, he glanced towards to the left end of the corridor—right at where he was sure the exit was.

Ed made a jerking halt, turning his head to furiously yell at the Aranea and give him a piece of his mind before noticing the tense silence and Luna's quiet voice speaking out, "Oh, Edward, why don't the Nestles show the spider out?"

There was a quiet shuffle, a whisper of "I'll be back soon for you, My Liege," before the Aranea disappeared. Ed analyzed the long narrow, kitchen, with its long narrow table and its occupants. The bonds were ringing in his ears, in his mind and somewhere in the depths of it; Ed could feel Reality fuming in anger.

The red heads were the majority, Ed noticed, at the table but everybody was crowded around it like a big happy family. Something inside Ed twisted with—resentment, hurt, anger?—before disappearing.

A busty redheaded woman shoved her seat away from the table, exclaiming, "you poor dear, sit down and let me make you a plate of food."