Fire And Ice

Given the events of the previous night, I knew Ed was beginning to doubt himself.

He asked me whether or not going after the stone was still worth it, to this I replied:

"I can't remember anything that happened before I was twelve, Ed. Your arm and leg are automail.. Gerard is still a wolf-thing. And Al isn't in a human body. We have to keep going, for Al and Gerard."

He sighed and put his head in his hands.

"But all those innocent lives for each stone... Is it fair that we get to live and they don't?! Do our lives have more meaning than theirs?!" He slammed his fist on the table in frustration.

I couldn't think of how to respond to him because I knew he was right. It wasn't fair for the four of us to live when thousands were murdered for our selfish comfort.

And where the hell was the Equivalent Exchange for this?! My memory isn't worth all those lives...

"Everything comes at a price, Edward." I said coldly "Nothing is free, right? Our sacrifices-"

"Equivalent Exchange, Vendetta." Ed inturupted.

"Dammit, let me finish!" He was silent. "Our sacrifices and pain are merely obligations for surviving. There's a natural flow of things, and it isn't based on 'what's fair' and what isn't."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm beginning to doubt that Equivalent Exchange even exists. Not every wrong will be automatically corrected with a right. It isn't always true that if you work hard enough, you can accomplish anything."

"Vendetta, I-"

"SHUT UP, SHORTY, I'M NOT FINISHED TALKING!" I yelled at him.

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING A SHORTY YOU AMIZONIAN FREAK??!?!?!?!?!!"

"I dunno, I can't see him because he's so SHORT!"

"SHUT UP!!!"

"Guys, guys, stop fighting!" Alphonse walked into the room. "Now what's this all about?"

"She called me short..." Ed pouted.

"He called me a freak..."

"Ugh forget about it." Ed replied to me "Now finish what you were saying."

"Fine..." I said "The world isn't fair, okay, Ed? It isn't equivalent. So to gain anything, you can give something up, but you can't expect anything in return."

"But that's crazy, you're an alchemist!" Ed stood up and interjected "Your whole life is based of Equivalence! You told me yourself a couple days ago, you believe in Equivalent Exchange!"

"I don't know what to believe anymore... But I know one thing: ten years of memories is not worth ten thousand lives."

"So you're just going to give up?!"

Wow it seems we've switched places. I'm now the one doubting the search for the Stone.

"I don't-" I studdered

"Vendetta." Gerard appeared out of the bedroom. I thought he was asleep...

"Hello, Gerard." I said calmly "Did we wake you up?"

"You can't give up, Vendetta!" Gerard said, ignoring my question. "Not now! Not after all we'd been through to get here! We traveled all the way here from Resembool and-"

"Wait!" Ed inturupted again "You lived in Resembool? But that's where Al and I lived! The place was tiny, how could we have not seen you?"

"I don't know. I'm not the person to ask." I replied.

"We did live there." Gerard said "We lived there since we were babies. Vendetta's parents took me in after my parents died. They worked along with some other people from Resembool to take care of the people injured in the Ishbal war."

"The Rockbells..." Edward muttered.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyway, they were cornered by some homunculi disguised as military officials. I guess the homunculi got some sick satisfaction out of posing as the State. They were killed along with the other people helping the Ishbalens."

"Wait, they were homunculi?!" Ed said

Gerard nodded

"You do look kind of familiar, now that I think about it, Vendetta." Ed changed the subject.

"According to some old pictures of me, I used to have short brown hair. But i guess when I was around ten it changed into black. It's pretty weird."

"Isn't that when your dad started teaching you alchemy?" Alphonse asked

"No. He started teaching me when I was younger."

"Well when did you discover that black-fire thing you could make?"

"Around the Christmas of my tenth year."

"Vendetta you never told me this..." Gerard said "How did you even create it in the first place?"

"I don't know. All I remember was studying alchemy for a long time, then one Christmas my dad gave me this ring." I admired it. I hadn't ever tried to figure out what it was. "He said it would amplify my alchemy and would allow me to do things no other alchemist could do."

"Like a Philosopher's Stone?" Ed asked

"This stone is black, though, not red."

"Yeah... That's weird."

"It is."

"I think we should try to identify it." Ed continued "It's like a black Philosopher's Stone. And there are some things about it that aren't like a red Philosopher's Stone. Maybe it doesn't need human lives."

"But maybe it does. Maybe it needs more than the red one." Gerard whined

"I don't know, but it seems like a lead. We should ask around. See if anyone specializes in minerals like the Stone."

"Sounds good to me." I said

"Me too," Gerard chimed in "How about you, Al?"

"Yeah, I'm in."

"Great." Edward said. "Let's split up and ask if anyone knows anything. We can meet up at the Military building at two to regroup or whatever."

"Okay." We all replied

I took Gerard and Ed took Al to ask if anyone had any idea what I was wearing on my finger.