Price of Happiness

It is not our abilities that truly determines who we are, it is our choices. -Proffessor Albus Dumbledore-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Chapter 4

Ed let out a deep groan of pain as he came back to conciousness, this time he felt his hands tied above his head. He also took notice that he was sitting on a cold, damp floor. His head was throbbing in pain, as was the bullet wound in his abdomen. He opened his eyes and looked around taking notice of the fact that he was in a cell. He felt the warmth of his own blood soaking through his pants and the lower half of his shirt.

He heard the click and bang of a heavy door and looked while his eyes adjusted to the dark. He hissed in anger when he saw that Ry was walking over to him. She had a pair of white gloves on her hands and she knelt down beside him.

Ed normally would have kicked the hell out of her, but the pain from the wound and the headache that was quickly becoming a migrane made that feat impossible. He growled under his breath when she reached out to touch his bullet wound.

She smiled, 'Awake and still so damn adament. I wonder what it would take to break you into submission.'

Ed groaned in pain when her gloved hand applied pressure to his wound. She only laughed at his pain, 'You've lost a lot of blood because of that. You are going to get yourself killed by resisting me Edward.'

He looked at her as she withdrew her hand and clapped them together. Then he watched her as she touch the bullet wound. The familiar smell and feel of alchemy coursing through him, he noticed that the pain from the wound lessened until it faded completely. He was grateful for the healing, but he still snarled at her when she reached up to stroke his cheek.

She sighed, 'I heal you and you still growl and snarl at me.'

Ed snapped at her hand when it came close to his mouth forcing her hand away from him. She sat back resting on her heels and continued to smile innocently at him. She put her hand down on his knee and said simply, 'I prefer my prisoners' to fight. I expect it from someone as short tempered and hot headed as you Edward Elric.'

Ed kicked her hand away and glaring at her said with a growl, 'Go to hell Ry.'

She laughed and got to her feet, 'Only if you will go with me.' Then she left the room. Ed struggled against the chains and cuffs that held him captive. He tried to get up, but there wasn't enough slack in the chains to allow him to do so. He hissed and leaned back against the cold wall, 'Well, if she thinks I am just going to sit here and take her shit, she is sadly mistaken.'



Al and Noa stopped and rested once they stumbled across an abandoned farm house just outside the confines of the forestry. They weren't alone in seeking shelter in the small house, but to Al's suprise the people hiding there were none other than Hues, Gracia, and Elysia. A wave of relief at seeing his familiar, yet not quite the same, friends there made him relax.

Hues had greeted them with a gun, but then a hug once he saw who was at the door. He also asigned Al to keep watch on the house while he went to look for food and water to make it through the night. Gracia and Noa had graceously managed to get the children to sleep after Hues returned with dinner and water. He had also managed to find blankets in a nearby storage facility further on the property.

Hues sat outside with Al while everyone else slept and he took to smoking a cigarette. Al gazed up at the night sky secretely wishing that his brother was looking as well. Hues let out a deep sigh and said to Al, 'He is still alive kid, your brother is a strong one after all.'

Al looked at him, Hue's words ringing in his head as the flashback from Ed's death in the underground of Central came to mind. Al shivered and numbly said, 'I used to think he was invincable, but he's not. Nor is he as strong as he used to be. But I can hope he is still alive.'

Hues had noticed the color drain from Al's face, the tone was dry, but full of pain. He could tell from those two tale-tale signs that Al had watched his brother die before, but it didn't explain why he was still alive to begin with.

Al cleared his throat, 'Hues, you have known my brother since he was sixteen right/'

Hues nodded caught off gaurd, 'Yeah, you could say that. But I am sure you are closer to him.'

Al nodded, 'Yeah, but do you know about me and brother, I mean where we come from/'

Hues shrugged with a heavy sigh, 'Alfons talked about it sometimes, but he really wasn't anymore social than Ed was. Always working, both of them. Alfons would speak with Gracia more, saying things like, watch Ed, he's a little insane, or he lives in a fantasy world and such.'

Al nodded, 'Okay, I was just wondering what you knew is all.'

Hues brought his attention back to Al with a concerned look in his eyes; 'Al, how about you enlighten me then, I can never get your brother to open up much.'

Al sighed, 'You and me both, he never tells me anything. But I guess I could tell you. The only thing is that I don't want you to think I am crazy, and you cannot let Ed know I told you anything, he'd kill me.'

Hues smiled, 'Of course I won't let him know. But I may require some good detail considering what I heard from Alfons. It is a little far fetched, but I never dismiss everything and I would love to hear your more calm and collected rendition of you and Ed's story.'

Al smiled knowing that Hues would reply in such a way; he took a deep breath and began, 'Okay, well brother and I were born in a small rural town called Rizembol. We lived with our mom after our father disappeared and both of us had an interest in alchemy, often rivaling each other. But brother was always so much better at it than I was, I think he strived to be better than our dad so our mom would forget about him. She put on a brave face for a long time, she was seriously ill and died when I was seven. Shortly after brother and I studied alchemy feverishly in an attempt to bring her back and our childhood friend and her grandmother looked out for us. We were looking for a teacher when we stumbled upon Miss Izumi, she was the one who truly taught us alchemy. We learned a lot about life from her as well and she taught us how to fight saying we needed to train the body and the mind.'

Hues nodded, 'That does sound right, training the body and mind will get you far in everything you pursue. This Miss Izumi, she was from your world as well/'

Al nodded, 'Yes, she died shortly before brother and I met up with each other. She was a surrogant mother to us, whether we wanted to except it or not. I know brother was heart broken to hear that she had died and he wasn't there to say goodbye to her.'

Hues smiled remembering how Ed always tried so hard to hide his emotions. From Al's tone Ed even hid his emotions from his brother, with the exception of the anger and frustration that he demonstrated to everyone openly.

Al continued; 'After we returned to Rizembol brother and I attempted the taboo, human transmutation. That was how brother lost his leg, and for four years I was nothing more than an empty suit of armor my soul attatched to it because brother sacrificed his arm. Our childhood friend and her grandmother attatched auto-mail to brother as artificial limbs. Then we set out, burning our house, to Central. Brother became a State Alchemist, which was part of the military that controlled Amestrius. We made a lot of allies, friends, and dangerous enemies during our adventures to seek the prophisized Philosopher's stone. We knew that it was the only way to get back what we had lost for trying the forbidden.'

Hues listened intently, even though he didn't fully understand everything and with a calm tone said, 'Gone on, what happened/ Did you find the stone/'

Al nodded, 'Yes, but it cost a lot of lives and the dangerous enemies that hunted us were after the stone. I was kidnapped because I was turned into the stone, brother came to help me. The humonculi, dangerous, altered, artificial humans wanted the stone. One in particular, Envy, that dragon the Thuel Society had, hated us. His sin was the result of my brother being born. He envied brother because he lived the life he had wanted and was revered in our father's eyes. The truth about Envy from what I heard was that he was the true first born son of our father. He was at least one hundred years our senior. He showed brother his true face, and it shocked him enough while they were fighting that Envy managed to kill him. I used the stone to revive brother and then he offered himself to the gate to bring me back. But when I came back, with my body, I had no memory of the four years we had traveled together while I was stuck in the suit of armor and brother lost his limbs once again. I had restored him with the stone and brought him back after he died, but he lost them again saving me. He's such an idiot sometimes.'

Hues smiled weakly, he admired the devotion the brother's had for one another. He put his hand on Al's shoulder, 'I am sure that one arm and leg is a pretty cheap price compared to loosing you Al.'

Al smiled weakly, 'Yeah, but . . . now I don't even know where brother is.'

Hues nodded, 'Ed can take care of himself, he will be fine. But you have to make sure that you hang in there too. I don't think that Ed will want to loose you.'

Al nodded his smile growing broader, 'Yeah, I'm sure brother is alive and giving Ry all kinds of problems. I almost pity her for what Ed is going to put her through.'

Hues laughed, 'Yeah, she's sure to have her hands full keeping him captive.'


Ry stood leaned back against the door and watched Ed's golden eyes glare at her when Pride approached him. He kicked at Pride anytime he came close to him. Ry let out an exasperated sigh and stood up straight making her way to Ed.

His golden eyes met hers and he could see the malice in her crimson eyes. It made him involuntarily shudder at the thought of what she might do to him while he was imprisoned here.

Pride stepped away from Ed and Ry stood in front of him, far enough away so that his kicks wouldn't reach her. She knelt down in front of him and clapped her hands together holding them like that while Ed's eyes narrowed in anger.

She smiled as his angered voice said, 'Alchemy, is that the only way you can do anything/'

She laughed softly, 'If only you knew what suddenly came to mind Ed.' She released her hands the energy like electricity forming in between her fingers. Ed watched her touch the ground under her and then she was enveloped in light. When the light faded he looked at her captivated.

He mousy brown hair was now silk, yellow blond, and waist length, her skin was the same ivory of the Winry he loved. Her eyes were no longer crimson, but the deep blue magestically almost violet.

Ed closed his eyes, he couldn't . . . he wouldn't allow himself to think of Ry as Winry, but it was going to be quite difficult with her appearance so like her. The girl he had grown up with, the woman he had left behind never telling her how he truly felt about her. He kept his eyes closed unaware that she had moved to kneel on the floor right beside him.

She spoke softly, completely mastering the voice of his best friend. It sounded so much like her, no exactly like her; 'Edward, why are you . . . what is going on here/'

Ed opened his eyes and looked at her, seeing only her, hearing only the sound of the voice he longed to hear for five long years. She glanced at the chains and then back to him, 'Why are you still in here, alchemy freak/'

Ed glared at her comment, completely forgetting that this was not Winry, but Ry at that comment. It was something that only the Winry he knew would call him, one of her many insults. How would Ry know of this, it surely had to be her.

She then made the mistake that snapped him back to his senses, she reached up and stroked his cheek. Ed jerked away hissing, 'Don't touch me bitch1'

Ry's smile came through on her transformed state, 'Oh, but what is the Fullmetal Alchemist going to do about it/'

Ed thought of kicking at her, he would have to shift to reach her, but he knew he couldn't touch her if she remained looking like she did. Even if he knew it really wasn't her. She stood up and walked back to stand in front of him. She knelt down again clapping her hands and touched the ground, her appearance changed back to normal.

She clapped her hands again and touched the ground just in front of her. Ed felt the electric current, the familiar warmth of alchemy, but it radiated in his legs. Before he thought to move them away they were siezed by the below and held them firmly against the ground. He secretly wished he still had his automail, but he had grown too tall to keep them attatched.

She stood up straight and said after a quick glance at Pride, 'I wonder what it would take to break Mr. Edward Elric/'