An Alchemist's Envy

Chapter 5: Shattered

"Do you need any help, Alphonse?" I asked.

Al was in the middle of building a speaker out of the church's giant bell and the broadcast equipment. It was Ed's idea, have the Father spill his guts about his evil plan without realizing that everyone in town could hear him through the speaker and their radios. We were actually out on the balcony that the broadcast room lead out to. Ed was inside waiting for Cornello. I peeked through the window now and then to make sure he was still alone while we fixed the speaker.

"No, I've got it. Thank you, though." He said as he knelt with a piece of chalk. Rosé was standing next to me quietly when she finally spoke up.

"About what you were saying before... I can't believe you have to do all that to perform alchemy..."

"I told you, the foundation of alchemy is "Equivalent Exchange"." Alphonse spoke while drawing a transmutation circle. I walked over to lean over the balcony railing to look down over the town.

"To obtain something, something of equal value must be lost." I added.

"Exactly. People call my brother a genius, but the reason he's so good at it is he paid the price... And worked so hard."

"But..." Rosé smiled faintly, "Since you sacrificed so much, you must have been able to bring back your mother..."

For a moment, I thought Alphonse wasn't going to answer her question, so I glanced over my shoulder to look at him. He had his head down and had stopped working. His next words sent chills down my spine.

"The thing we brought back wasn't even human anymore."

Rosé flinched and looked so scared. Who wouldn't? The thought of two young boys trying to bring back their dead mother and barely made it out alive is totally nightmare worthy. I held a hand to my forehead to try and hold back any type of memory that might surface. Alphonse continued talking, so I tried to focus more on his words then the headache that was forming.

"We've given up on transmuting humans, but my brother still wants to get my original body back. I'd like to make my brother's body the way it was, too. But like I said before, the risks are high... so we might end up even worse, or lose our lives. That's the way things are in this business." Alphonse completed the circle and stood, turning his attention to Rosè.

"Rosé, that's why... you can't choose this path."

~~~~~~~

"Wow, his plan actually worked." I joked, looking down at the very surprised townspeople. Edward and Cornello were still spouting words, now that Cornello realized the trick we pulled.

"How long has that switch been on?!"

"From the very beginning. You just exposed your entire plan."

"Wha... Wha... What?! You dumb brat... I'M GOING TO KILL Y--"

"TOO SLOW!"

Click!

I turned around and saw sparks flying in the room with Edward, then a loud, painful howl.

"Al, get Rosé out of here! Take those stairs over there!" I yelled, pointing towards the right end of the balcony. A set of stairs led straight down and right to the platform Cornello had performed his 'miracles' before. He nodded and scooped the poor girl in his arms once more, while I darted into the room to help Ed.

"MY ARM! MY ARM!" Cornello was on his knees, holding his right arm to his chest. Edward stood there, dumbfounded, as Cornello leaned back and revealed that his arm was now a mixture of metal pipes and wires. It pulsed and a few red sparks flew from the small, red stone that was embedded in his ring.