-Authors Note-

Hey everyone! This is my first Fullmetal Alchemist fanfiction, and it takes place during the Brotherhood anime. There are some parts directly from the anime in the first chapter, so I used the subbed version of the anime to write some of those because it was easier to get the dialogue right. I, of course, hold no claim whatsoever to those parts or FMA:B, so just the plotline and free writing are mine. This isn't based off of Bluebird's Illusion at all, by the way.

At the moment, for those who are curious, the pairings will be a little of Lan FanxLing and MayxAl, however this fanfiction probably won't be filled with too much romance.

The cover is made by the wonderful ShrodingrsCat on Deviantart~

Oh, and this is rated T for language and violence. Thanks for reading!

Chapter One

Ed stood in the white void, a large black doorway with peculiar patterns behind him and a pure white figure with one skin-colored leg sitting across from him.

"You're here to bring back your brother, aren't you?" The white figure said in what seemed like multiple voices at once, facing Ed. "But how are you going to pull a whole person out of here? What price will you pay? Will you offer your body?"

Ed smirked. "I've got your price right here. This huge thing," he continued, pointing hand at the huge doorway behind him with circles and writing on it. The white being stared at him, mouth open a little, and Ed's smirk grew bigger. "This is my gateway of truth. Which means, it's up to me how I use it. Am I wrong?"

Truth grinned and giggled before placing a hand on its forehead. "Is that what it's come to? Haha, are you sure about this? If you lose your gateway, you'll never be able to use alchemy again. Who knows, you might need it." The last part sounded almost smug, but Ed just turned to look at the large gate.

"You're right. It's true, everything beyond this gateway lies everything about alchemy. However, I've been manipulated because of it. After having been shown the so-called truth, I was convinced I could solve everything with alchemy. But I was wrong. That's just arrogance."

"You would lower yourself to become just a normal person, unable to use alchemy?"

"Lower myself? I've been just a person from the start. An insignificant human, who couldn't save a little girl who had been turned into a Chimera."

"Hmmm. Well, maybe we're both wrong there, Edward Elric. You're not just a normal person, no matter what you do." Truth continued, pointing at Edward. "You're sure you're okay with it?"

Ed kept looking at the gate, remembering all of the people who had wished for his brother's and his success. Then he turned to Truth, smiling. "Even without alchemy, I still have everyone dear to me."

Truth grinned. "That's the right answer, alchemist. You have beaten me… I just hope you have no regrets. Take it with you. All of it!"

Ed clapped his hands and placed them on the gateway, which dissolved into blue sparks. Truth dissolved as well, first his left leg crumbling into nothing before his natural body followed. "The back door is over there… Edward Elric."

Al's body and soul –combined at last after countless years- came into view, his long hair covering one eye as he looked up as his brother approached him. Ed offered his hands to Al, who shakily stood up and grasped them.

"That was a crazy thing to do." Ed reprimanded, but there was just warmth in his voice.

"You too, brother."

The gates creaked open, and Ed looked down at Al. "Now, let's go home. Together."

"Mm-hmm."

Al and Ed stepped into the light.

Al's eyes opened slowly as he look up at his older brother, who smiled at him. As everyone crowded around the two brothers, laughter was heard and tears were shed. May threw herself into Al's arms, crying apologies for what she had done while Al comforted her.

Finally, Al pulled the black coat that had been given to him around his body, and shakily walked over to his brother. "Brother… we did it! We got both my body and yours back!"

Ed smiled at his little brother. "Well, only half of what I lost. But it's fine. My automail leg doesn't bother me as much as the arm did."

"What are you talking about, brother? Your left leg…. It's made of flesh!"

Slowly, Edward looked down. A small tear in his left pants leg showed not iron, but skin. When had Truth given his leg back? An uneasy feeling settled over Edward, but he pushed it aside. Truth had said take it all, so maybe the leg was part of that. But… what had Truth said that seemed off?

"If you lose your gateway, you'll never be able to use alchemy again. Who knows, you might need it."

"Hmmm. Well, maybe we're both wrong there, Edward Elric. You're not just a normal person, no matter what you do."

"You have beaten me… I just hope you have no regrets."

Ed swallowed once, and put on a mask of innocence to hide the bad feeling rising up. "I guess you're right, Al." He said with a false grin. "That bastard Truth must have felt that I'd given up enough."

Al studied his brother, and then smiled as he turned back to everyone. Hoenheim left after making sure Al was alright, and Ling and Lan Fan also took off to grieve for Fu. Ed stood apart, watching as he thought. Then, his actions unnoticed, he picked up some splintered glass and cut his thumb with it, watching blood drip out from the cut. Barely a second later, red light gleamed and the cut healed immediately.

But... but that was impossible. That reaction was almost like the Homunculus' healing skills, or the light of a Philosopher Stone.

Ed cussed under his breath. How could this have happened? "Damn it!" He hissed, careful to keep his voice down. What had Pride done to him during their fight earlier?

-Sixty minutes ago—-

"Brother!"

Izumi and Roy turned at the sound of Al's alarmed voice, noticing that the homunculus, Pride, had wrapped a strand of his shadow around the Fullmetal Alchemist's wrist.

"Al! Go on ahead!" Edward yelled, glaring at the smallest Homunculus. "He appears to want something with me," Edward continued, watching as Pride covered half of his face with his hand and panted, glaring at Edward.

Izumi studied Ed, but realized that if Father weren't stopped, countless lives would be lost, and then turned to Al. "Al, let's go! Don't let yourself be beaten, Ed!"

"Right!" Ed shouted.

Alchemical sparks flew, and Izumi, Roy, Al, and May all ascended towards ground level on alchemical structures, Izumi and Roy riding on a large palm of earth and Ed and May just using a square-shaped platform.

Ed glanced over his shoulder as they left, then focused all of his attention on Pride, who glared upwards at the figures who had already left. "Greed, it's pathetic that you would throw away your honor as a Homunculus."

Edward narrowed his eyes, deciding to attempt to throw Pride off of his attack a little. "Why are you guys so obedient to that Father of yours?" He said, his arm shaking as he tried to pull it from the shadow's grasp.

Pride narrowed the eye that could be seen. "What a senseless question to ask." He said in his creepy voice, eyes fixed on the man in front of him. "It's only natural that we would obey our own father, isn't it?"

"Ha! You're the one who's senseless." Edward spat. "Only natural, you say? You're just a mind-numbed punk who doesn't try to think for himself!"

Edward's reply was met with a cold stare, and the shadows that had wrapped around Ed's arms picked him up off of the ground and threw him back down. Ed glared up at Pride from the ground, blood dripping from his cheek. "I don't get it. Why are you his willing lapdog?" Pride stiffened, and Ed continued. "You've been worn as ragged as you are, and you don't even care."

Pride's eyes widened as he pictured Father's leaving him without a glance before regaining his composure. "So what? Please don't go applying your human sensibilities on us Homunculi!" He removed his hand where the skin was no longer there, just the Philosopher's Stone that could be seen for a second before Pride's shadows covered it, giving him a creepy appearance. More shadows pinned Ed to the floor, digging into his skin on his arms, legs, and face as Ed yelled in pain. Pride jumped down, examining the human in front of him.

"This container won't last much longer. However, since you, like my father, are of Hohenheim's blood, we are virtually brothers." Ed gasped in pain, glaring up at Pride. "Edward Elric, give me your container—your body—to me!"

The shadows lunged forwards, wrapping around Ed's body as Pride's being clashed against Ed's. Ed yelled again, pain filling every inch of his body as the Homunculus fought for control over it.

"You can't do that, Pride." A voice, amused and cold, cut into the battle, and Pride screeched in surprise.

"Kimbley! How… how are you able to stop me? You shouldn't be able to…!" Pride shouted while being pushed away by Ed.

"Please. This torrent of pain? It's like music to my ears! No, Pride, you just can't do it. You mock humans when you're winning, but the second you think you'll lose, you run towards a human body, all the while mocking another Homunculus for lowering themselves? You sicken me." Kimbley said, and Pride's eyes widened.

"You fool! I've already entered Ed's body and started taking it over… do you have any idea of what could happen?! Ed would take control of the new body that I've started to modify for me!" Pride screamed, and Ed attacked him again, taking the control back over his body. "This could kill us both!"

"Then you should have thought of that before, Pride!" Kimbley said cruelly, and Pride screamed again as Edward's figure appeared. "How did he….? No!" Ed's hand grabbed at Pride, and Pride's eye widened. "No! No! NOOOO!"

Kimbley waved, vanishing again with a smirk. Edward had won.

Outside of the battle of consciousness, Pride's body crumbled away to nothing, the shadows slipping into a shadow.

Ed's shadow, to be precise.

Ed gasped in pain before sitting up and studying Pride's empty clothes. "Opening the Portal must have taken its toll just in time," he said, looking up. "Well, that's one problem done with…I'll have to ask forgiveness for what happened to Selim from Mrs. Bradley later." Ed took a breath, and then tightened his fists. "Now I just have one bastard's butt left to kick. Wait for me, Al!"

-Two weeks Later-

"Al, are you alright? We can rest a little." Ed offered to his brother who had once again paused to rest on his crutches.

"No, I'm fine. I didn't realize how weak my muscles became in my absence." Al apologized, his hair cut into the short fashion he preferred. He had debated over keeping his hair semi-long like his brother, but eventually he decided that he liked it better short without having to tie it up. "You can always go ahead, brother."

"No way, Al. We started this journey together, and we'll finish it together, okay?" Ed said, leaning against a fencepost. "You can take as much time as you want; we've already been waiting for five years, what's a few more hours?"

Al smiled at him, and Ed felt a twinge of regret. I can't be completely sure about this, Ed thought darkly, starting to walk again and keeping an eye on his brother if he needed any help. But I don't think Pride died. Could he still be lurking inside me, like how Greed and Ling shared bodies? If so, how can I get rid of him without alchemy?

"Brother?"

Al, who kept looking straight ahead as he stumbled forwards, pulled Ed out of his thoughts. "We've accomplished what we were aiming for. What… what do you think we should do now?"

"I don't know. There's plenty of the world to see, after all. I've resigned from military service, though, so we don't have to do what that damn new General wants us to." Ed replied. And I plan to research how to get rid of my newest problem, he added silently.

"Mustang wasn't that bad. I'll miss seeing Riza and the others, after all." Al said thoughtfully. "The chimeras, Jerso and Zampano, insisted I help them try and get their original bodies back. I was thinking of going to Xing, to research how to help them. After, if we learn that…"

"Girls like Nina could be cured instead of killed or treated as lab rats." Ed finished the thought. "Yeah. That does sound like a great idea." Ed snuck a look at his little brother and grinned. "Hey, you didn't happen to decide on Xing because of your new girlfriend, right?"

Al turned red, and waved his hands in front of his face. "Girlfriend? No way, May is just a friend!" He protested.

"Yeah right, you should see your face, it's turning red!" Ed laughed. "Who knows, maybe you'll come back as a prince of Xing!"

"Brother, take it back! You're so mean!" Al yelled, swatting a cane at Ed, who dodged.

"Okay, okay, sorry, Al!" Ed said with a grin, the dark thoughts that had flooded his mind vanishing for the moment. "You don't have to go right away, do you? We have so many people to say goodbye and thank here first."

"Yeah." Al sobered up a little, and then smiled. "Hey, Ed?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why not come to Xing with me? You no longer have automail to hurt you, after all. Maybe you could learn alkahestry instead of alchemy." Al suggested, the wind blowing over the valley of Resembool as the sun started to slowly dip down, painting the grass and sheep in gentle hues.

Ed gave a startled glance to his brother, and then laughed. "Yeah, actually. That might be worth looking into. Alkahestry might actually be a solution to my problems."

"Problems? You mean being unable to transmute anything?" Al asked curiously.

"Yeah, Al. What else?" Ed said, looking away from his brother's eyes by focusing on Al's hair instead of his face.

Is something wrong with brother? Al wondered, but he decided to ignore it. "Oh look! It's home!"

"You mean Winry's house?" Ed asked, looking ahead eagerly. "You're right!"

"Brother, we're going to make Winry cry again, aren't we." Al said with a small, teasing sigh.

Ed grinned. "She had promised she would when we were restored."

"Yeah…" Al cast a sly glance at his brother and decided for a little revenge. "You know, brother, with your automail gone, you don't have any good excuse as to why you go see Winry so often."

"Al… are you hinting I purposefully broke my automail so I could go see Winry?" Ed said, glowering at the innocently smiling boy.

"Why, yes, brother. Until you got the courage to ask Winry to marry you, right?"

Ed slowly stared at his brother, blood rushing into his cheeks as he turned absolutely pink. "That's not it at all! She's just our childhood friend, right? There's nothing else between us!"

Al was saved from a reply by Den barking. The black-and-white dog was whining nervously at Al, and footsteps thudded inside the house before Winry raced out. "Ed! Al!" She stared at them for a moment, and then tears welled up in her eyes. "Welcome back!" She wailed, throwing herself onto the two brothers. Since Al was strill fail, he tumbled backwards, dragging Ed and Winry down with him, where they all landed in a small pile and started to laugh like they hadn't done in years. That night they all had stew and apple pie, to the boys' delight, and Winry, Al, Ed, and Pinako, laughed and talked into the night.

When everyone finally went to sleep, Al smiled at Ed. "I still can't get over how warm everything is… and how nice it is to finally sleep. Thank you, brother."

Ed laughed. "What are you talking about, Al? You saved my life in the fight against Father, after all. If anything, you're the one who gets the credit, since the whole mess was my fault."

"Brother, we don't need to argue about whose fault it was after everything was solved, do we?" Al complained.

Ed grinned, and then looked over at Al's bed. "No. Hey Al... there's something I need to tell you-" His voice cut off as he saw Al's chest moving slowly up and down, his eyes sealed shut. "Oh. You're asleep."

Ed lay in bed, studying the ceiling. He stayed that way until the early hours of dawn, worries and doubts plaguing him until he fell into a light and disturbed sleep.

I wanted to mention here that the next chapters will probably be longer. I don't know how long it will take to update this, but I would say expect once a week for now. Sorry if there are a few spelling and grammar errors!

Please R & R, all who do add one inch to Ed's height, and you know he needs every inch he can get. [Despite being taller than Winry now]

Ed: Who are you calling so small a microscope of the highest levels are needed just to see him, huh?!