Convictions! You Look Like Him...

A Chapter by Emunah June.

The man took me to a stuffy apartment, of where he locked the door and sat me down at a large dining room table. "I can feel it...you're not who you say you are," he said at last. I simply stared in confusion. "I.......I don't know where I am.....this isn't my home..." I whispered in fright. "I know. You're not Noah of the Gypsy's are you? You're..." he began. "Koda! My name is Koda!" I completed for him. The man sighed. "My name is Hohenheim. Hohenheim Elric, if you will," he said, sitting down in a chair next to me. I froze up.

"Hohenheim Elric...." I repeated. Hohenheim nodded. I gulped. "Do you....by chance....have any children?" I asked after a while. Hohenheim smiled. "I have two," he answered.

"Edward and Alphonse! Are they your sons?" I asked immedietly afterwards.

Hohenheim stared at me for a while, then looked down at his fists. "Yes...they are mine. Which means you come from my world," he said, looking straight at me. I nodded. "Your sons are in grave danger! Ed is 15, and Al is 14, and they're fighting this homunculus named Envy, and--"

"--you died in the fight, is that right?"

"Yes! Only because Envy was going to kill Ed and--"

"--you got in the way to save him?"

"Yes! And now I'm trapped here and I--"

"--want to get back to your world?"

"Yes! How do I do that?"

"You don't."

I froze, trying to process what Hohenheim just said to me. "I...don't?" I repeated. Hohenheim nodded. "Welcome to Germany, Koda. This is your new home," he added softly. I swallowed hard, surprised I wasn't naseus yet. "No...no I can't be stuck here! I have to go back and help them! If I don't, Envy is going to..." I began, trying to shake out the image in my head. Hohenheim sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, but there is just no way to get back to the other side. Your on the other side of the Gate, which means your stuck here. No one has come close enough in science to figure out how to travel to the other world. If they had, I would have returned already," he said as he stood up from the table. "Wait! Mr. Elric! There has to be a way! There just has to be! Are you positive there's nothing I can do?" I screamed at him. Hohenheim didn't bother to look at me. "I'm positive. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go pick up my son from the carnival."

I found myself angry as I grabbed Hohenheim's arm.

"Are you telling me you have a son on this side of the Gate too? And because of this you decide it's okay to blow off your two sons on the other side?! Did you hear me when I said that they are going to DIE--as in never breathe again--if you don't DO something?! " I said. Hohenheim grabbed my hand and threw me off. "Alphonse and Edward are my pride and joy. Which is why I'm not doing anything," he answered. "If you love them, then don't kill them! You already did that to Trisha!" I screamed. I quickly covered my mouth. "I'm sorry. I--" I tried to say before Hohenheim spoke angrily. "Yes....I did kill Trisha didn't I? Well, then I'd be doing those boys a favor if I let them die. They can be with their mother, and not with a father like me," he said as he stormed out of the house. I fell back into my seat, surprised at what he just said. Let them die? How could he? I clentched my teeth and slammed my fist against the table. It'll be a cold day in heck if I was going to let my friends die! I stood up from the table and ran out the door, back into the world I was completely unfamiliar with.

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"Someone please! Help me!" I screamed as I ran down the street. But everyone laughed, mumbling the words "stupid gypsy" as I ran past. "My friends are going to die! Someone please help me!" I cried over and over again, hoping someone would help me out. But I got just the opposite. Carnival foods and obscene names were thrown my way as I ran past people. Finally, I fell to the ground, hot and covered in foods I didn't want to identify.

"Are you okay Miss?"

I looked up from the ground, and there, looking at me, was the Alphonse look-alike. "I'm....I'll be okay. But please sir! You need to help me!" I said as I stood up and held my breath. "What's wrong?" he asked before coughing. "My friends....they're going to die if I don't find them! Can you help me get back home?" I asked, tears forming in my eyes.

Don't cry. You cry too easily.

"How are they going to die?" the man asked, smiling. "They're going to be killed by a man named Envy! If I don't hurry...oh please, help me save them!" I said, grabbing the look-alike's arm. "I'd be happy to help. But I need to finish something first. It won't take long, I promise," he said. I was jumping around. "But their lives are on the line! Can't it wait?" I pleaded. The man shook his head. "It won't take long, I promise.What's your name anyway?" he asked. "I'm Ko--Noah. My name is Noah," I said with a heavy heart. "Well, Noah, my name is Alfons. Alfons Heiderich. I promise I'll be quick," he said as he walked back to the rocket site I had seen earlier. His name was Alfons? How weird! I figeted with my gypsy dress while I waited for Alfons to finish his work. He was taking too long! After 45 minutes of me standing there, I screamed "You take too long!". Alfons shook his head, then continued to work. I sighed. What if Ed was already dead? Envy probably got to him already. I felt my eyes swell up with tears.

Don't do it. Don't you dare cry Koda. Don't cry.

I was scared. Ed was probably dead already, and Al was most likely almost dead too (there has to be a way to kill a soul stuck in armor, and I'm sure Envy had found it by now). I was too late.

My friends were dead, and I couldn't do anything about it.

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By the time Alfons was finished, I was incredibly hungry and tired. "Sorry. It took much longer than I thought. But anyway, let's go find your friends," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks but....I'm pretty sure they're dead. I'm going to go home now. Thanks anyway," I said solemly as I turned around and began to walk away. I saw Alfons reach to me for a second, then he turned around and walked back to the rocket site.

I'm sorry you guys. I couldn't do anything. I'm so stupid!

I walked down the streets, getting harrased by a few more people. Most of them, I passed off as drunk, but others I knew they knew what they were doing. I fell onto the ground on my knees, finally letting the tears roll down my face. I covered my eyes with my palms and sobbed. "Stupid gypsy," people said as they walked past, sometimes kicking me in the back or throwing more foods at me.

So this is the life I'm destined to live now? I suppose it's punishment for everything I've done. Letting my friends die, and failing Grandma, and joining the military even though I knew it'd be too tough. Grandma....Winry....Scheizca....Ed....Al......I've failed you all. I'm so sorry!

I couldn't stop crying. All my emotions seemed to clash at once. "Please don't...hate me forever...." I choked out. The dust from the ground got into my mouth, making me thirsty. My skin itched, showing that I desperetly needed to take a shower. And my clothes were stained from all the greasy carnival foods. My eyes were having trouble staying open, and my stomach screamed at me over and over again.

This was my new life. My clean slate turned out to be one I wish I was never given.

Right then, I wished I would have told Ed how I felt about him. If I had, then maybe I wouldn't be on this side of the gate. Maybe I'd be home with Winry and Grandma, or even back at Scheizca's. Maybe, if I had screamed louder that night Envy chased me, maybe someone would have saved me.

But what if someone had saved me? I would have never been there to save Ed. But then again, maybe Ed would had never stepped foot in that place if I hadn't be so stupid.

This crying, hungry, thirsty, tired figure that was on it's knees on the ground could have been Edward.

My spirits were lifted a little bit. This pain and sadness I felt, I had spared Ed from. I gave up my life for his.

To me, that was Equivalent Exchange.

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The day slipped into night, and I staggered back to the bandwagon I had woken up in. My gypsy "family" would be back soon, and they'd take me out of this awful place. As I sat back down on the hard wooden seat, I heard footsteps behind me.

Was my gypsy "family" back already?

I turned around, and looked around to see who was there. "Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked. When no one responded, I turned my head back around, only to have a bright light shrone into my face. "Ahh!" I said, covering my eyes. "Woah! Dad was right! There really is a gypsy out here!" I heard a voice say. I opened my eyes long enough to see a boy about my age looking at me. "Who are you?" I asked sharply. "Me? Oh, I'm Edmond. Edmond Elric, if you will."

My whole heart stopped beating.

Why was I getting angry? Why did I resent this boy who carried the last name of my friends? "Edmond Elric...." I repeated. The boy took the light out of my eyes long enough for me to see what he really looked like. He wore a white shirt with a green vest, and his hair was short and blonde. But his face....it looked identical to Edward's. This made me even more mad. I wanted to kill this boy. I found myself wanting to see him bleed and cry and beg for Hohenheim to come and save him. Would Hohenheim jump to this son's rescue? Or would he give Edmond the same answer he gave me?

Edmond is my pride and joy. Which is why I'm not doing anything.

"Hey, gypsy, wanna come stay with me and my Dad? He told me to come look for you and ask you if you wanted to," Edmond asked a moment later. I shook my head. "There's no way I'm sleeping in the same house as Hohenheim. You couldn't pay me," I answered curtly. Edmond looked hurt, then brought the light up to my eyes again. "But it's gonna snow tonight. You sure?" he asked a moment later. Man, was he persistent! But still, I shook my head. "No, Edmond. I'm not going to be in the same house as Hohenheim! Get him out of there and I'll think about it. After all, it's his fault my friends are probably dead!" I cried. Edmond looked at me, shocked. "Well...whaddya talking about? My Dad would never do such a thing!" Edmond insisted. I grit my teeth. "He's never told you....about Alphonse and Edward has he?" I asked outloud. Edmond stayed silent, then got off the wagon. "Whatever, I'm going to--" Edmond stopped before he dropped everything onto the ground and stood there, silent. "What? Edmond? What's wrong? Do you see something?" I asked, but I got no response. After a while, Edmond began to move. He looked at his hands, then felt his face, and then smoothed the back of his hair. "Are you looking for something?" I asked, looking over the side of the wagon. Edmond stared at me, and I don't know why, I soon realized something.

Edmond was no longer Edmond.

His face showed panic and confusion. "Wh....where am I? What's going on?' Edmond asked me, scared. "Ah...you're stuck here too? Oh well," I said, swallowing hard. "What? Where are we? How did I...." Edmond asked, investigating his clothing. "The other side of the Gate. Or, as Hohenheim called it, Germany," I answered. "G-Germany? Never heard of it," Edmond spoke as he felt his face again. "Where am I? Why am I not me?" Edmond asked me again. I was about to speak before a loud explosion shook the world. I fell back into the bandwagon and Edmond fell flat on his face. I sat back up. "Edmond! Something tells me we need to leave!" I said outloud before another explosion hit the faraway city. You could see smoke rising into the stars. "Go where?!" Edmond asked, annoyed. I looked over to the saftey stake that held the bandwagon in place. Weren't we on a downhill slope?

"As much as it pains me, we need to go back and save Hohenheim," I said a second later. Then, I gingerly extended my hand to Edmond. "C'mon. I've got an idea," I said. Edmond looked confused, then grateful as he took my hand and hopped onto the wagon. "Hold on tight! This could be a bumpy ride!" I said to Edmond as I slipped the stake out of place. The wheels slowly began to roll, and I fell onto the floor of the wagon and held my head. The minute the wagon zoomed down the hill, Edmond held onto the side of the wagon and looked like he was going to throw up. "Edmond! We're going to crash into something to stop, so I would advise ducking!" I said over the loud sound of the wheels slamming against rocks. Edmond looked at me, and immedietly ducked and held his head. I felt my whole body tense and the wagon rolled into town. How did I know? Because you could feel the heat from the fires draping on your back. Finally, the wagon slammed into something, and Edmond gave a yelp the second of impact. When we felt the planks of the wagon catch fire (we crashed into a burning building), we began to scramble out. But the second Edmond helped me off the wagon, I felt extreme heat run down my back. I looked to see that the fabrics of my dress caught on fire. "Edmond! My dress is on fire! Do something!" I screamed in full panic. Edmond, who looked shocked, used his right hand to pat out the fire. As expected, he got burned. "Ow! What the...oh yeah. No AutoMail," he said outloud. "Miss, the fire is out. Let's go!" he said. "Don't call me Miss! Call me Noah," I said. "Thank you Edmond for putting out the fire. Lets go and save Hohenheim! I'll show you where the house is!" I said.

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We ran across the burning town. "Why is everything blowing up?" Edmond asked from behind, still trying to keep up with me. "I have no clue. I only arrived on this side a couple of hours ago! I don't know everything!" I screamed behind me, then looking forward.

We soon found out the answer to that question.

A large bomb fell from the sky, making a whistling noise. I froze where I stood. "Edmond! Edmond duck!" I screamed as I ran and pushed him to the ground. I fell to my knees as the loud explosion rang in my ears. The ground shook, but we stood up anyway and kept running. "What are those things?!" I asked, pointing to these large contraptions in the sky. They had a slim base, large wings, and a rutter that kept them in the air. "I don't know! Let's keep going!" Edmond insisted. I nodded, then ran. I was only running for a while before I heard someone scream my "name".

"Noah!"

I turned around. "Yeah Edmond? What is it?" I asked. Edmond shook his head. "I didn't say anything."

"Noah! Over here!"

I turned to my left to see a figure waving to me. "Come over here Noah! Over here!" the figure screamed over another loud explosion. "Edmond! Look! That might be Hohenheim!" I said. Edmond nodded as we ran over to the figure.

It wasn't Hohenheim. Just Alfons.

"Alfons! What's up?" I asked. Alfons cricked the back of his neck. "We need to get out of here! Hey....who's your friend?" he asked a second later. I looked over at Edmond, who's face was one of shock and disbelief. "Edmond? Are you okay?" I asked. Edmond didn't respond, but his eyes weren't even on me. They were on Alfons. Trying to lighten up the mood, I smiled and said "Aww, Al, he likes you!" Alfons looked at me and blushed. "Is he really like that?" he whispered. I shook my head, laughing. "No. No he's not. Anyway, we need to be going somewhere. Come with us! We can get out of here together!" I said. Alfons nodded. "C'mon, friend. Let's go save Hohen-whatever his name is!" Alfons said as he pat Edmond's shoulder. Edmond was still shocked, and he didn't say anything when I call his name. "Edmond? Edmond! Let's go! The city is burning! We don't have much time!" I screamed, shaking his shoulders. Alfons shook him too, and eventually we got him to move. "Let's go! We need to save Hohenheim!" I cried. Edmond looked at me. "Alfons....he really..." Edmond mumbled as we kept running again.

Soon, the three of us were running down the streets. Eventually, we found Hohenheim's house...

...that had gone up in flames.

"Hohenheim! Hohenheim! Are you in there?" I cried, hoping he'd hear me.

Nothing.

"Maybe he made it out already," Edmond suggested. I swallowed hard, then looked at Edmond and Alfons. It scared me, because when I turned, I could of swore I saw two children.

Two children named Edward and Alphonse.

"Noah! What's wrong?" Alfons asked. "Huh? Oh! Nothing. Just thinking of some people is all," I said. Edmond tensed up. "Are they stuck in the fire? Should we go save them?" Edmond panicked.

"No. They're already dead. There's no saving them. Not anymore."

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