Edward couldn't think. He couldn't think about how much it hurt, how much he just wanted it to end. The only sensation comparable was when the Truth had taken his limbs, taken his organs. After that, there was Automail, but it paled in comparison. Insignificant pain.

While Truth's tolls had been focused on his body alone, and even then only on a specific portion of it, this tore through his body and mind. It ripped him apart, and spared nothing of him. It burned him. It froze him. It played with him mercilessly, reminding him of dark eyes that bore into his very soul as he was ripped apart in a different manner.

It reminded him of his brother's screams, his pleads to save him.

Something clicked, locking itself into place, and it was as though he had emerged into the eye of some great storm. It had been brutal, and now it was eerily calm.

Everything was numb, his hearing was a loud ringing that fluctuated ceaselessly, and Edward's body went limp. Only the occasional muscle spasm indicated that there was any life to him, as even the rise and fall of his chest had, if not ceased, become near completely unnoticeable.

--

"Edward," Hohenheim said quietly. "Can you hear me?" He rested a rough, calloused hand lightly on his son's shoulder, weary and downtrodden at having passed this never-ending curse onto his son. If the circumstances hadn't been so dire, if the fate of Amestris hadn't depended so fiercely on his son...

His thought process was cut short by a metal fist connecting with his jaw as Edward lurched up. Hohenheim, quite frankly, went flying.

There was an audible thud as Hohenheim landed midway across the room. Immediately, the door opened despite Hohenheim's earlier suggestion to not enter.  "Dad? What happened? Are you-- Ed?!" Alphonse rushed to his brother's side, allowing Winry and Pinako to help Hohenheim to his feet.

Edward's breathing was heavy, his eyes wild and somehow... strange. There was an overwhelming fire burning in them, and where there had once been a deep bronze ring around gold, it was now a deep, bloody red.

"Ed..?" Alphonse asked again, concern now lacing his voice more prominently than ever. Something about his brother felt wrong. Subconsciously, he backed up a step.

Immediately, Edward's eyes cleared of that abnormally strong passion, the fire receding back to what it normally burned at. Receding back to what it was when their mother was still alive, and before his brother started to have horrid night terrors whenever he slept.

The ring around his eyes didn't disappear, but it did fade enough to become unnoticeable unless one should look closely for it.

;Alphonse, what...what happened?;

"Brother...I don't know. You'd be better off asking dad than me. He had us step out." Alphonse said, forcing back fear and confusion and worry over his brother. He looked to Hohenheim then, clearly seeking out answers.

"Edward is going to be fine, Alphonse. I managed to heal some of what was causing his fits, and you might find that he's a little less prone to getting injured now."

Ed went pale then. He didn't...Hohenheim hadn't...

He looked inside himself then, and knew. ;You fucking bastard, you had no right!; There were souls in him, trapped in a philosophers stone of immense proportions. Father and Hohenheim had split the souls of Xerxes half and half, and while Father had split his amount increasingly among the homunculi, Hohenheim had never (to his knowledge) done so, and therefore had an insane number of souls at his disposal. They felt calm, the souls, almost resigned to their fate as they whispered greetings to him.

"I did what I had to, Edward. I know that I had no right, but I did my duty as your father to ensure you were able to live long enough to be happy."

;So you cursed me to your hell? You should know better than anyone that you can't truly be happy when-;

"Ed? What are you talking about..?" It was Winry who spoke, and she had a deeply concerned look on her face that was mirrored on Alphonse's. Never before had he so deeply regretted not telling his brother and Winry about his past life. 

;Alphonse...; He signed carefully after sending one more vicious glare towards Hohenheim. ;Do you remember when we were studying dad's journals?;

"Dad's journals? His alchemy notes? Yeah, but what does that have to do with this?" Alphonse was looking even more confused now, his eyes flicking over to their father as if he would suddenly spill all of the answers he sought instead of Ed's drawn out withholding of information.

;Do you remember what he said on h-o-m-u-n-c-u-l-i?; Damn, they really needed to come up with an actual sign name for the blasted things. 

Recognition lit in his little brother's eyes. "The artificial humans? Yeah, I remember them.  But they aren't real or anything, right? They're just a theory."

;Al...; Ed shifted, drawing his metal limbs in, the sound of his two artificial legs clicking together familiar to him, but he didn't miss the near pitying look in his father's eyes as he began to trace aimless patterns onto the bed sheets with a metal finger before he continued to sign. ;Dad is a h-o-m-u-n-c-u-l-u-s, and now I am one too.; The smile that graced his mouth was not a kind one, rather it was cold and there were a few too many teeth for it to be anything near friendly. 

"Edward Elric," Pinako cut in harshly. "I might not know what this 'homunculus' you speak of is, but I do know enough to tell you that you are being a complete and utter  idiot right now! Your father might be a fool at times, but he would never harm you boys, so whatever crackpot idea he has come up with this time, you'd best just accept it!" 

Edward glared at her, crossing his arms. She didn't understand! She had even admitted to it! But...she was also probably right, too. The souls inside of him didn't feel angry, or even mildly upset. They seemed...content, and were staying to the deeper recesses of his consciousness well enough that he figured he'd hardly notice them if he was busy. That didn't mean he liked it, though.

"Brother...you're joking...right? Dad's notes said homunculi couldn't be made out of something living, that they're just animated puppets." Hohenheim, finally, took that as his cue to intervene.

"Alphonse, I said that to ensure that if anyone were to find my notes, they wouldn't be tempted to create one themselves. The price is not an easy one, and yet there have been many who attempted and who still continue to attempt it. Your brother is not lying to you."

"Dad..? What does this mean for brother, then? For you?" Al looked as though he was caught between lingering disbelief and fear and a now budding sense of curiosity. "And if the price is so high, how are you one? Why did you turn brother into a homunculus?"

"It means near nothing, as far as your brother is concerned. He'll heal almost instantaneously, and his chest shouldn't pain him anymore. He'll live longer than the average person," Hohenheim paused for a second, and Edward almost snorted. That, he thought, was an understatement. An almost terrifying one, not that he'd ever admit it. "And as far as the price...I was made into what I am against my will, without knowing of the cost and what would become of me. As far as your brother, I'm afraid he was also made into one without his knowledge, but I 'split' my being a homunculus, and gave your brother the smaller piece, so that there was no additional toll to be paid." Hohenheim stopped, allowing his youngest son to comment should he wish to.

"I...I think I need some air." Was all that Al said before rushing from the room. Edward cursed to himself, and went to scramble off the bed before his brother got too far or did something rash. He managed to just barely get himself off of the edge of the bed before he had Winry barring his path and his father pushing him back down onto the bed. 

"Edward!" Winry scolded. "He'll be fine. You know him, he probably just went to the roof for a few minutes. He'll be back soon, and you can be stupidly overprotective then. For now, sit down and stop being an idiot for ten minutes!"

With no other choice but to comply, Ed huffed and sat on the very edge of his bed. One, he thought, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and so on he would go until he reached 600.

--Alphonse's POV--

Mind reeling, Alphonse stared out over the city in front of him. The Colonel dead, his brother and father both homunculi, and to top it off, it was like his brother and father had some sort of secret that they weren't letting him in on. While they had been explaining their situation to him, they had, perhaps subconsciously, been looking to each other and edging around something. He didn't know what that 'something' might be, but he knew it was there, and he was determined to find out. When the door to the roof opened behind him, he huffed. "Go away, brother." Footsteps behind him. "I said, go away! Can't I have a second to think anymore?" He said, scowling as he turned, only to be met with a forceful fist to the face. Alphonse's world went dark, the last thing he remembered was the floor reaching up to meet him.

-----1610 Words-----

So, I realize that its been a year, but uh...balancing work, school, a life and family time is hard!! (Which is also why this chapter is longer than the others, just in case there's anyone still out there reading this. Not really sure how I feel about it, though. The first 700 words were typed up waaaayyyy long ago and the last 900 were typed up within an hour tonight, so I was in two entirely different frames of mind in either section and I'm personally not a fan of how I blended the two together. Also, hope you enjoyed the end! It's always a pleasure leaving you all with some wonderful angst and a cliff hanger! (Also, to @beli_kaylaaa and @MarieJade4ever do I dedicate this chapter!  Enjoy!)