Chapter One

                              Edward placed his thumb on his mother's first name. It was hard, staring down your mother's gravestone square in the face. The orange and yellow sky signaled that day was slipping into dawn, and that he didn't have much time to chat. "Al turned 15 today, Mom. I just wanted to tell you that in case you didn't remember anymore. Being under the ground and all makes it hard to remember things, doesn't it?" he spoke for the first time. Hopelessly, he waited for his mother's reply, but nothing came. "We, uh....we miss you and all that. You haven't been forgotten," he said again, and as before nothing came back to him.

This is almost harder than Koda's memorial.

He remembered the memorial as if it were yesterday. Everyone dressed in black, and some man stood in front of everyone while holding a photo of Koda in his hands. "Residents of Resembool, an unforgivable crime has taken place in our humble town. A small 8 year old girl was kidnapped right outside of her own home. Her family and friends alike are all in shock. Koda Tucker was a great friend and a wonderful daughter...."

Edward wasn't listening to the strange man with the photo of his friend. He was listening to the thumping of his own heart. Koda had left a decent sized mark on his heart and consciousness alike, so loosing her was like loosing a part of himself. Finally, the man asked if anyone wanted to talk about Koda. Edward didn't want to stick around for this part. He tugged on his mother's hand. "Mom, I want to go home. I don't want to be here anymore," he pleaded, but his mother only shook her head and continued to listen to the man. Edward felt tears painting the sides of his face. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" the man up front asked. Edward couldn't take it anymore. "I will!" he shouted, and with that he ran up to the front of the crowd and faced everyone in the eyes. His heart raced and his mind traveled to places he never thought he'd visit again. "Koda was a good friend, and I miss her a lot, but would she want us to sit here and cry?" he began, but even if it sounded tough, he was still crying. His voice broke as he continued. "She'd want us to...move on and....be strong....maybe we'll find her someday....maybe...so don't cry because she'd cry too and....and I...." Edward couldn't hold back anymore. The emotional floodgates bursted open, and Edward broke down. "I wouldn't want to see her cry...." he finished. He covered his eyes with his hands and cried long and hard before his mother came and took him into her warm arms.

Yes, the memory was still fresh, even if it happened 8 years ago. 2 years later, Edward's mom got scarlet fever and passed away. That was when all of his sanity was lost, and in a desperate attempt to make everything right again, he attempted the forbidden:

Human Transmutation.

Edward and Alphonse had busted out the alchemy textbooks and researched the human body. Alchemy, they soon learned, was an art that made you feel on top of the world, that made you feel magic. But in order to perform such a feat, you had to open that part of the heart that led the magic out. Studying for 2 more years and living with Winry's grandmother, the two of them figured that with alchemy, nothing could go wrong. An art that gave off immense light when you used it and always showed spectacular results couldn't possibly backfire, right? The equations seemed perfect and absolutely flawless.

Until the brothers realized they hadn't added Equivalent Exchange into the formulas.

Alchemy's main art--give something and something else of equal value would be presented to you. It was the one thing they hadn't added into the mix, and as a result, Edward's left leg was torn from his body. The pain was immense, but nothing hurt him more to see that his brother had been swallowed alive.

No more Koda? No more Mom? No more Alphonse?

The thoughts were simply too much, so Edward's final attempt to fix everything was sacrificing his right arm to bind Alphonse's soul to a nearby suit of armor. It worked, and Edward had to get his limbs replaced with AutoMail, a special type of mechanics that Winry and her grandmother excelled in. It was little a price to pay so long as it meant that Edward's brotherhood stayed in tact.

He couldn't afford to lose more than he already had.

But right now, all of that was nothing more than memories etched in the back of his mind. Right now, the only thing he wanted was to be alone with his mother. "I love you Mom, and I'll visit again soon." With that, Edward stood up and walked away. But he stopped one more time to gaze at Koda's memorial stone. "I haven't forgotten about you either," he whispered as he walked along the hilly roads and back to his brother.

The only thing he had left. 

Reviews

[Luna Northstar]

Ahhhh, so sad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love this book... I can't wait till u finish chapter 7! (i'm gonna keep bugging u about that until u finish mwhahahahahahahaha!!)

[NoAirToBreatheXSuffocat..]

i...uh...im going to be in this story, right????? you know, michiro.....and karalynn's name is miharu!!!