The Water Alchemist

Reunion

Welcome back to The Water Alchemist. I don't own any of the intellectual property of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Chapter Fifty-Four

Reunion

***

Ed turned, staring at the small infant one last time, laid out on his red coat, folded neatly above the rubble. The infant whined and wailed, and Ed set his jaw, taking a deep breath in through his nostrils. He hoped Mrs. Bradley could find it in her heart to forgive him, to understand why he did what he did. Ed wasn't exactly sure if what he'd done was necessarily right, but he figured it better than the alternative. He wondered if Pride could ever recover and live the life he'd been pretending to as Selim for so long— if his own prideful nature would allow such a thing. It seemed time would be his judge if he'd be accepted. There was a chance Mrs. Bradley would abandon him, but Ed didn't think that would happen, not after watching them interact. A mother's love could be a truly powerful thing, he'd found. Maybe now, they'd each have a chance to start over, to be reunited. He looked up to the gaping hole in the artery of the lair, ready himself to reunite with those he cherished most. He clapped his hands together, his gaze set on the blue of the sky, and he rose from the ground after them. He noticed the remnants of a bloody battle on one of the floors he passed in a flurry, the circle Scar had managed to activate in the nick of time. His heart pounded faster the closer he came to the opening, ready to finish the journey they'd started.

"Damn you!" Hohenheim's voice echoed, startling Ed as he rose higher, a red glow emanating from the surface, tainting the blue sky into a hazy purple as he ascended.

He finally breached the surface, his breath catching at the scene before him. Formless figures danced across his eye, fleshy and loud in their pleas. Hohenheim and everyone who'd followed him up looked on in horror as Ed's eye caught the satisfied gaze of the man behind it all. He wore a sly grin as he tossed the girl at his side behind him. Before Ed could even react, could even shout her name in worry, Father unleashed a beam of alchemy. Ed was thrown from his perch, red light mixed with white crackled loudly, popping in his eardrums as he fell to the ground. He rolled a few times, trying to keep his wits about him, but he no doubt blacked out. When he came to, he forced his tired eyes open with a groan. He coughed on the smoke that had settled around him before moving to sit up, stopped by a sharp pain in his arm, something like a pinching sensation making it difficult to focus. He looked over to the source, his automail making an unpromising clicking sound. He guessed the issue was likely a severed wire or a cracked frame, but he could still clench his fist if he tried hard enough, gritting his teeth to manage the simple movement. He rolled over to his side, careful not to exacerbate whatever was wrong with his arm before moving to a knee, looking around. Across the way was his teacher, bloody and unconscious.

"Teacher!" he called desperately, crawling to her side. "Teacher, say something!"

"I'm alive," she croaked, managing to pull herself up. "Because of Mr. Hohenheim. He got to me at the last second." She turned her head, and Ed followed her gaze. He jolted back when he noticed Hohenheim standing there, his arms outstretched, his clothes tattered, and his face cracking in the same fashion Pride's had been. It was clear to Ed that Hohenheim had used a great amount of his power to shield them.

"Hohenheim! Hey, snap out of it. Let's—" Ed stopped short, a panicked noise escaping him as Father appeared behind Hohenheim, his face veiny and throbbing. He struck Hohenheim with a blow to the neck, sending him hurtling across the terrain and breaking up the cloud of smoke around them. He eventually skid to a stop. "Hohenheim!"