Unequal Exchange
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor ever will own,
FullMetal Alchemist or the characters therein.
Chapter 1: A Small Matter of Equivalence
"For the last damned time, I do not want to be called Mary!"
Edward Elric screamed at his brother, his voice cracking it was raised so high.
"But you ..."
"No, Al. My name is Ed and that's what it will stay." Ed glared at his younger brother, stubborn eyes of gold meeting equally stubborn ones of grey.
Al threw his hands up in the air, reminiscent of an old mannerism of Ed's. "Fine," he conceded grudgingly, then carried on, "but it's not..."
"I know it's not, Al. But I don't care. Mamma gave me this name and it's who I always will be, no matter what."
Al sighed, he had no response to that and Ed knew it. There were bigger problems to be faced but having a shouting match over Al's facetious remark had released some of the tension in both of them. After all, it's not every day that your younger brother brings you back from the Gate. Nor was it just any other day when you discover that your older brother is now your older sister because you didn't get the equivalency rates quite right.
Now Al knew exactly how guilty his brother had felt all those years ago.
Al sighed as he looked up at the moon. He stretched his thin frame much like a cat til his muscles shook slightly then relaxed back into himself and settled into the comfortable niche he had made amongst the rubble.
His brother was asleep. Ed had done little but sleep and rant since his return six hours ago. Not that Al blamed him, if anything he thought Ed had been remarkably self-controlled considering. Al knew he would have had full-blown hysterics if the same thing had happened to him. Not for the first time today, Al felt the wave of guilt sweep through him. He had prided himself on his theories and his knowledge and his determination to have everything perfect but he had failed at the last moment. Oh sure, Ed was back, almost whole, almost normal. It was just a small hitch, how could he have known that it would have had such an effect.
"I have a sister." Al groaned. Ed was never going to forgive him for this. Then because Al was a very intelligent young man he suddenly realised that there were several other people who would also probably never forgive him either when they found out.
He closed his eyes briefly and thought back over the last few days. For four years he had been searching for his brother, seeking a way to bring him back from the other side of the Gate. Al had never believed that Ed was dead, he had never given up hope. His brother always came back, his brother always kept his promises.
It had taken him six months to calculate and configure the array. Six months of reading and researching obscure texts and mouldy old manuscripts in every dingy library and bookshop from Dublith to Xing and all points between. He had travelled with nothing but the clothes on his back and a suitcase filled with notes. He had developed theory after theory. None of them had given him the answer. It had taken him three months to realise that by combining parts of several arrays he could at last get an idea of what he needed. It had renewed him and he had plunged even further into study. And then he did it. He designed the array that would work, that had to work. And it wouldn't just bring Ed back. It would bring him back whole and complete in all ways. Al had not spent four unsleeping years as a suit of armour for nothing. He had calculated the costs and balances for getting Ed's limbs back on many a long night and now he had the array that would do it.
It had taken him two days to draw it. He had to find a place to draw it. Somewhere large and abandoned. He spent a week looking for a suitable place. He considered the underground city but that was too close to the military. He considered the island but he didn't want to be that far from help if something did go wrong. Not that it would of course. In the end, he came back to here. The place it had all begun so many years ago. Their burnt out ruin of a house. He had made an underground chamber and drawn out the circles in chalk. He had checked and double checked every line, every curve, every single symbol. It had looked perfect. He had spent a whole day verifying it and then going over every line again to make them thicker, more substantial.
It had taken him two minutes to screw it up. The moment he placed his fingertips to the array the bright lights of a successful reaction had sparked and he had smiled, his mind gloating at the array's perfection. He had felt himself reaching out, his soul searching for the essence that was Ed. Slow minutes had ticked past as he searched and then it had all fallen apart. The Gate had noticed him and demanded its payment. He had calculated the equivalencies to the last decimal point or so he thought. The Gate bluntly told him he was wrong and offered him the Truth, but Alphonse did not want it. All he wanted was his brother. Two minutes later his brother appeared in the middle of the array and the Gate had taken the balance owing from Edward.
Al sighed again. He was so dead when Ed woke up.
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‼️🎈hello everyone thank you so much for reading this chapter! 🙏 If you'd like to read the full novel "FullMetal Alchemist: Unequal Exchange", you can find it on my Ko-fi page: ko-fi.com in the store section. This fanfic will consist of 10 volumen , this is the 1st Volumen with 49 chapters . 🎈‼️
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