Wayward Son

Chapter 11

It could have taken an eternity for the light to fade.

Aerrow's eyes were hurting, telling him it probably hadn't been a good idea to watch the transmutation, as he rubbed them and tried to once again focus on what was in front of him.

"Is it done?" asked Cyclonis.

Edward knelt in the centre of the circle, gazing in wonder at something in his cupped hands that cast a soft red glow on his enraptured face.

"I did it..." he muttered. "I can't believe it, I... I actually did it..."

"Excellent," said Cyclonis, and she held out her hand to receive it. "Now then, pass it to me and you will be allowed to walk free."

"Over three years of searching," Edward said quietly, as though he hadn't heard her, "trying to find even the tiniest lead... I finally have it... the Philosopher's Stone..."

Noticing that Cyclonis seemed to have forgotten about him, Aerrow slowly got up.

"Did you hear me?" she said insistently. "I said hand it over."

Edward stood up, clutching the Stone in a clenched fist.

"No," he said, glaring at her defiantly.

"Excuse me?!" she responded in disbelief and anger, raising her staff to his face again.

"You heard me," said Edward, ignoring this new threat. "You seriously thought after everything I've done to try to find this thing, I'm just gonna hand it over? Like it's just some piece of junk?"

He held it up between his fingers for her to see. It was small – around the size of a large marble – egg-shaped and perfectly smooth. The way it glowed and shined seemed unnatural, almost off-putting, and Aerrow found himself trying hard not to look at it too much.

"This thing is going to get me home," said Edward, "and put me and my brother back to normal if it has enough juice left. And you know what? There's nothing you can do about it because both of us are leaving. Right now."

Aerrow took that as his cue to swipe the Master's legs out from underneath her and, while she was on the ground trying to figure out what just happened, he leapt up, grabbed Edward's arm and dragged him to the door. He paused, grabbed the chicken that had followed them in and threw it at Cyclonis, hitting her in the face just as she got up again. Edward pulled him through the door and together they ran for their lives down the corridor, only stopping once they were around the corner, where they slumped against the wall and tried to catch their breaths.

"Well," said Aerrow, rubbing his still-sore neck, "that was... a thing."

"Are you okay?" asked Edward. "Sorry I let her choke you like that. I wasn't sure if I'd be able to hold up the bluff. Guess she fell for it hook, line and sinker if she really believed I was just gonna give this thing to her."

He held up the stone for Aerrow to see.

"Wow," the redhead muttered. "It's... I kinda thought it would be bigger, but..."

"I know, right?" Edward responded, grinning joyfully at what he had created. "I never even imagined what it would be like to actually have it but... this is it, I..."

He looked like he was about to start crying again.

"...I finally did it," he said weakly, gazing dreamily at the stone he held. "I finally found the Philosopher's Stone. I can go home, I-I can put Alphonse back to normal... I can get my arm and my leg back... we can have normal lives again, just like... like before Mom died..."