A Brighter Flame, Another Hope

Prologue

A/N: So, this is a rewritten version of the first A Brighter Flame, Another Hope (which is posted on my fanfiction.net account). It's not actually done yet, which is why this version is being posted here and not on my primary account yet. Why bother posting it if it's not done? Because literally nobody looks at stories on this account. I'm basically speaking to an empty room. Mostly, I'm posting this for myself.

So...Yeah.
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Prologue

The white place faded away to reality. Time sped up. With a guttural scream, I launched myself at Father. By some miracle, he had finally run out of power, so I knocked him over instead of being immediately vaporized. A quick punch simultaneously  knocked him out and broke his nose. On any normal day, I’d be amused by the fact that I had just broken the nose of a self-proclaimed god.

This was, of course, no normal day.

“Mei.” My voice came out stronger and steadier than I expected. And colder. Much, much colder.

“Y-yes?” Mei’s voice cracked slightly as she spoke. The girl was kneeling next to the empty shell that used to be Al. She looked broken, and I couldn't blame her. Her eyes drifted to rest on something a few feet away to my right and her eyes seemed to fill up with even more tears. I refused to look the same way.

“Fix Ed.” I felt empty of all emotion. All I had left in me was a cold space in my chest, like a tight ball of ice. Inside it, I could feel rage, agony, and grief just barely contained and struggling to get out. It burned, and I embraced the feeling.

Mei’s eyes filled with confusion and a bit of fear. Fear for me or fear of me? “But--”

The ball of burning ice cracked. “Just FUCKING do it!”

Mei jumped, a terrified look on her face.

“Morgan!” Mustang called, motioning to Hawkeye to bring him closer to me. “Stop this! Ed’s…” Even he faltered. “Ed’s dead.”

I reigned in my rage and gritted my teeth. “You don’t think I fucking know that?!”

Hawkeye looked at me with confusion. “Then…?”

I looked down at the unconscious Father. “There’s only one way to bring him--and Al--back, and it’s right in front of me.” I felt the side of my mouth quirk up in a smirk. “Why shouldn’t I use it?”

As gentle and sweet as Mei was, she understood what needed to be done. Her eyes hardened, and she gave me a resolute nod before going to Ed and creating the necessary circle.

“No,” I heard Armstrong say in hushed voice. “Miss Morgan…”

“Morgan, think about what you are doing!” Mustang hissed.

“You’re sacrificing innocent lives!” Hawkeye pleaded. “Ed and Al wouldn’t want you to do this!”

“Yes, well.” I turned away from them and towards Ed. The light from Mei’s transmutation circle was dying away, revealing the body that was once Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. He looked so normal, and I would have thought he was sleeping if not for the fact that his eyes were still open, glassy with death.

Something inside me wailed with grief. My Edward, my Edward, please, no… I took a deep breath and solidified the ball of ice again. Instead, I grabbed Father’s wrist and dragged his unconscious body towards Ed.

Everything was ready.

Deep breath. Hands together. Concentrate.

“You forget, I’m not Ed or Al,” I said, and clapped my hands down on the Homunculus and the boy that I loved.

~~~

Before this story begins, let me say a few things. This is not your clichè “Person falls into FMA” story. At least, not completely. This is also not (much of) a passionate romance story, thank God.

This is more of an adventure story. This is a story about Equivalent Exchange and growing up.

This is the story of me losing the world that I knew, and how I found a home in return.

Which, of course, is also a clichè. Sorry about that.