Price of Happiness

Dark and difficult times lie ahead. Soon we must all face the choice between what is right and what is easy. -Professor Albus Dumbledore-Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Chapter 3


Al ran against his sickness with his nephew in his arms as the soldiers followed them firing at them from behind. He glanced around never stopping for anything, anywhere he could hide. Noa ran next to him clutching Trinity in her arms as the soldiers shouted behind her to stop.

Al rounded the corner glancing to make sure Noa was still with him and then they made a mad dash for the river bank ahead of them. Al stopped abruptly at the river's edge cursing that they had nowhere else to go and a raging river before them.

He heard the soldiers come up behind him and both he and Noa turned to face them. They had their guns raised and aimed at them. One of the soldiers stepped forward and said after catching his breath, 'No where to run kids.'

Al silently wished he had the ability to do alchemy, then he would have been able to save them. Al looked at the soldier, 'Why are you doing this/ Why are you taking people from their homes and resorting to such violence/'

The soldier scoffed, 'Orders, obligations as a soldier.'

Al suddenly remembered Colonel Mustang from the soldiers' reply. Al glanced at Noa standing next to him frightened, his daughter crying in her arms. He felt Jason's sobs against his chest. Then Al recalled how his brother always went in blindly in situations like this, he had to find Ed. He would not be captured by these vial soldiers, soldiers drained and brainwashed into thinking what they did was right. He glared at the soldier and then looked back at Noa whispering, 'Can you swim/'

She looked at him and gave a slight nod then Al stepped back, just as the soldier advanced towards them. Al took another step back and Noa did the same. Jason tightened his grip around his throat and Al whispered to him, 'I will not let them hurt you Jason.'

The soldier yelled out just as they both leapt backwards into the raging river.

Al held Jason tightly as the river thrust them down stream, he didn't even have the strength against the current to make sure Noa was alright.


Ed stood stunned as he listened to the report about Munich being taken over. He listened intently, clinging to every word as the names of the civilians that lost their lives were played over the radio. Ed felt relief when he didn't hear the name Elric or Hues. But then it was said that those who weren't killed were captured to be sent to camps administered by the Nazi forces.

Drake looked at him and said, 'I'm so sorry Edward, do you have family in Munich/'

Ed gave a slight nod the shock slowly dying from his expression only to be replaced by an angered, determined one. He looked at Drake, 'There is no way in hell my brother would put up with that . . . if only I was still a State . . . ' He stopped realizing that he had almost slipped. He truly wished he was in his own world now, somewhere he could change what was going on. Somewhere where his only weapon was the rigged arm and a gun. Niether of which he could make a difference with while he was stuck who knew where and under constant radar of Ry and her humonculi . . . Then a thought struck him, if she can make a humonculi, then alchemy existed here. He just had to go about using it differently.

Drake stood still listening to the report on Munich as Ed walked away from the encampment. He normally would have called out to him . . .

Ed walked into the brush and took the hunting knife one of the soldiers had given him from his belt. He then took a pen and a piece of paper from the pocket of the military coat he now wore. He hated the military clothes; the dark green pants, brown muscle shirt, the camoflauge jacket thrown over it. The boots he had to wear made his feet hurt, they weren't that think and even if they were leather he prefferred his own boots anyday. He unconciously drew a random circle on the paper and then placing the pen in his pocket and the left over paper he took the knife and pricked his finger.

He put the knife away and touched his hands together silently then placing the paper on the ground he touch his hands on the paper thinking of the mud wall he normally used for defense. The circle lit up and to Ed's pleasure his signature defense rose from the ground in front of him.

'So it does exist here, it just works differently. It's going to suck to have to need circles and blood everytime.'

'That's because you come from the other side of the gate,' Ed jumped to his feet startled by the voice. He stared in anger as he saw Ry and Pride come into view from the cover of the trees.

Ed raised his gun at them only to have Pride move at him with blinding speed, knock his gun away, hold one arm behind his back, and hold the other by the wrist while his arm hugged his throat. Ry smiled, 'Now, now Edward Johnathen Elric, now that you figured out how to use alchemy, I don't think I can let you out of my sight.'

Ed hissed only to have Pride tighten his hold on him painfully. Ry walked over to him stopping short of the reach of his legs. She tilted her head with a smile, 'You want to break free of this place and run off to make sure Alphonse is okay, don't you/'

Ed glared at her snarling and baring his teeth, 'And kill you and the obimination you made.' Ed had to bite down a moan of pain as Pride twisted his arm painfully high behind him. Ed felt something cold and sharp touch his throat and tilted his head away from it.

Ry smiled and straightened, 'Edward my dear, you are at my mercy in this world. You have to do so much more than human transmutation to acquire the ability of not using circles. But even if you do acquire such said power your blood still needs to be spilled for you to use the alchemy here because you are not from here.'

Ed glared at her watching her walk back and forth in front of him then she stopped in front of him and said, 'You will never be what you used to be. Never be the acclaimed prodigy you once were, not here. Here you are just as powerless as everyone else.'

Ed glared at her, then within seconds he managed to break Prides' hold, earning his collar bone to be sliced by the knife, he freed his arms and then he elbowed Pride in the face. He then kicked him in the abdomen and elbowed him in the back. Ry responded by bringing out a gun and shooting at him. He rolled to the side dodging her and ran off into the brush towards the encampment. He stumbled through the brush to find that most of the soldiers were about thirty or more feet from him. He ran towards them trying desperately to get there attention. He knew that in all truth he was powerless against her, no matter how good of a fighter he was she had a humunculi and the alchemy from this world.

Ed stopped dead in his tracks having felt a sharp pain pass through his mid-section right after the sound of a gun fire. He stood looking down where his hand had subconciously clutched where he had been shot. He looked down at the flesh covered artificial limb to see it covered in blood. Ed hissed from the burning pain that reverberated through him suddenly.

He cursed when he felt the dizziness from the pain, the haziness blurring his vision and thoughts. As he fell to his knees he mumbled, 'That bitch shot me . . . '


Al rested on the river bank outside a deep forest. He shot up hearing the distant sounds of guns and cannons. He looked around him his memory flooding back as he looked at the unconcious three year old lying only two feet from him shivering in his wet clothes. He stood and scanned the area looking frantically for Noa and Trinity. He sighed in relief upon seeing Noa carrying Trinity in her arms walking towards him. He ran over to her and stopped in front of her.

She glared at him in exasperation, 'You trying to act like Ed, we could have died Al. What were you thinking/'

Al hunched in guilt, 'I know . . . I just . . . '

Noa sighed, 'We need to find something to keep us warm. I don't want Jason and Trinity catching their deaths out here.'

Al nodded and then he and Noa both looked in the direction of a gun shot going off close by. Al walked over to Jason and picked him up in his arms silently making their way along the river bank away from the close gun shots.

Al had an unknown feeling of knowing pass through him, but at the thought of the careless decision that had almost cost him, Noa, his daughter, and his nephew's lives he ignored it and continued away from the gun shots.