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Resembool – 1905
It was a cool, damp morning in Resembool, where light spirits carried happy footsteps down the path home. Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim were returning from an early trip into the main street of town, with two important surprises in tow. Excited chatter from Trisha broke the silence, and hums of agreement from Hohenheim echoed the anticipation.
Walking up the stone steps, they opened the door to a quiet home. Hohenheim stayed in the hall while Trisha paused at the bottom of the stairs. Clearly, the boys were still asleep, as they should be. She ascended the stairs and made her way to their shared room, cracking open the door. The noise caused Ed to stir, and his mumbled greeting to his mother woke Al. “Why don’t you boys get dressed quick and come downstairs? We have a surprise for you both.” Trisha said before exiting the room.
Ed and Al looked at each other groggily but complied. They exchanged their pajamas for regular clothes, and met their mother downstairs. Al rubbed his eyes, still waking up. What could be worth getting woken up that early? Hohenheim reached into his pocket and produced two Pokeballs, handing the pair to Trisha. Ed had put the pieces together and was bouncing on his toes, which Al quickly copied as he registered what his brother’s excitement was about.
Trisha held up the Pokeballs and smiled, “Now this is a little early for you to be receiving your first partners,” she glanced at Hohenheim, “but your father and I agreed it’s better to grow with your first partner.” She lowered her hands and offered a Pokeball to each son. Ed grabbed his quickly and held it above his head, staring in wonder. Al took his slower, delicate, almost like it were fragile. He stared at the top part of the ball, trying to see inside. “Why don’t you two go outside and meet your new partners? They’re brothers too.” Trisha suggested to her slack-jawed children after a few seconds of letting them bask in amazement.
They all but tumbled over each other trying to make it to the door first. Both parties hands grabbed the doorknob and turned, bursting outside in a mess of anticipation. Trisha watched as they ran into the yard, and started to follow them before noticing Hohenheim wasn’t moving. She grabbed his hand softly, and began pulling him to join their sons. “You’re allowed to be there for their milestones, you know.” He huffed, but smiled, staring affectionately as he followed her.
In the front yard, the boys faced each other. “Same time?” Ed asked.
Al nodded, “same time.”
Ed threw his Pokeball with one hand, it burst into a wonderful blue light mid-air. Al performed a far more careful underhand throw, his also producing a bright blue light. Forming from these lights were two short Pokemon, with a small flame sprouting from both of their heads. Ed and Al stared in awe, laughing, giddy with the feeling of seeing their first partner Pokemon. The young Pokemon looked around, taking in their surroundings. Their gazes landed on their respective trainers, who ran up to them.
“I’m Edward!” He extended a hand. The armored Pokemon inspected his hand for a moment, before extending his own hand and making contact. The Pokemon chirped, and happily closed his eyes.
Al reached towards his partner, resting his hand on his head. The Pokemon responded by mimicking the action, reaching up his own hand to touch Al’s head. He giggled, “I’m Al, it’s nice to meet you!” A content chirp echoed the greeting.
Trisha and Hohenheim stood in the doorway; she hugged his arm and rested her head against him, smiling with pride at the way their sons introduced themselves to their new friends. She looked up to see Hohenheim’s mouth twitching between a smile and a frown, and a few tears rolling down his cheek. She placed her head back down and hugged tighter. “They’ll remember this day, always. And in that memory, you’ll be there, I’ll be there, they’ll be there. And even when we’re long gone, we’ll be there in your memory. No matter what, we’ll always be a family.” She paused. “I know you understand that, I just want to make sure you know.”
Hohenheim trembled slightly, then moved his arm from her grip to wrap around her shoulders. “I know.” He leaned his head on hers, and they watched their children running around with who would become their lifelong partners.
☆☆☆
☆☆☆
Resembool – Early 1906
It wasn’t six months until Hohenheim left on another one of his excursions, in some faraway town on the other side of Amestris. He left Golurk behind, one of his partner Pokemon, to help Trisha run the household, keep the boys in check. The boys quickly moved past playing with their partners in favor of training them. Ed wanted to battle his father when he got home, show him how strong he and his partner had become, and Al wanted to follow in Ed’s footsteps.
A knock sounded at the door. Ed shot up, followed closely by his Charcadet. That Pokemon was hardly ever in his Pokeball, but that was exactly how Ed wanted it. “I’ll get it!” He yelled out as he ran down the hall. His mind raced for who it could be; if it was the milkman again he might sick his Charcadet on the poor guy. As he opened the door, the silhouette of his father entered his mind. To his disappointment, the figure on the other side was much smaller.
“Hey there, Eddy.” Pinako said as she ruffled the little boy’s hair. He didn’t like the nickname, but he loved the affection nonetheless. “Is your mother in?” She had a bag with her, probably containing food. She’d been bringing groceries over for the past few weeks, Ed noticed. He also noticed his mother had been leaving the house less and less, only to do chores and only for a short time. It was concerning, but she reassured him everything was okay whenever he tried to bring it up.
“Yeah, she’s in the kitchen.” He moved out of the way to let Pinako in, and shut the door behind her. She waved at Al in the living room, who was reading with his Charcadet. Both parties waved back, smiling. Ed followed Pinako to the kitchen, and watched her greet his mother and hand off the bag of groceries. He and his Charcadet stood and listened as Trisha and Pinako discussed household matters, new recipes, Winry finding her first Pokemon.
At the mention of the last point, Trisha brought the observer into the conversation. “Oh Ed! You should take Alphonse and your Pokemon to go meet Winry’s! That’ll be so much fun.”
Ed perked up. He knew it was an excuse to get him and Al out of the house so his mother could discuss topics she didn’t want him to hear with Pinako – namely about his father – but he did want to see this Pokemon that Winry had caught. “Okay, mom,” he agreed.
“Just be back by dinner, okay?” Trisha said.
Ed nodded, “sure, we’ll say hi to Winry for you too.” Trisha smiled and hummed, he knew just what she would say. Ed turned and started down the hall, Charcadet close on his heels. As he entered the living room, he saw Al and Al’s Charcadet already closing the books and putting them back on their shelves.
“I heard. That’s so exciting! I wonder what she caught!” Al said, walking past Ed to get to the front door.
Ed frowned, he wanted so badly to understand what was happening in his mother’s life that she didn’t want him to know. He wanted Al to understand as well, but his younger brother didn’t seem to notice anything wrong, and he didn’t want to unnecessarily worry him. Ed put on a brave face, he would let Al continue to be happy and oblivious. “I’ll bet it’s a Snubbull, it probably thought she was one too and got close enough to get caught.” The two left the house and began towards the Rockbell’s.
“That’s mean!!” Al balled up his fists and stuck his arms out to his sides. Their Charcadets looked at each other, amused. He relaxed as he thought of his own guess, putting his finger and thumb on his chin in thought. “Hmm. I hope it isn’t a Shinx.”
“Why’s that?” Ed asked, tilting his head.
“I want to catch one, and the three of us can’t have the same Pokemon.” He explained.
Ed stopped walking. There was a beat. “We have the same Pokemon???”
“Oh, yeah.” Al also stopped and giggled. Their Charcadets were such different personalities, they were entirely different Pokemon to him. “Well they can evolve into something different, right? That doesn’t count.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Ed said, he thought for another second about the two evolution options. “Well wait, which one do you want?”
“The cooler one, Armarouge.” Al smiled.
“No way Armarouge is cooler, Ceruledge is definitely cooler. The blade hands are badass.” Ed shook his head as he responded.
“Well I think Armarouge is cooler, that’s what I want Charcadet to evolve into.”
“Fine by me, I’ll take the way cooler Ceruledge.” Ed stuck out his tongue.
Their partners chirped behind them. “Hey, we forgot to ask what they think. They should be the ones to decide what they become, after all.” Al made a good point. The human brothers turned to the Pokemon brothers, leaning intensely. “Do you want to become an Armarouge?” Al asked his partner.
His Charcadet thought for a moment, recalling the pictures the two looked at earlier in one of the books. He closed his eyes and nodded, chirping agreement. He reached out a fist, and Al laughed as he gave his partner a fist bump.
“And what about you? Do you want to be Ceruledge?” Ed asked his Charcadet, who looked to the ground. He arched his eyes and pointed to Alphonse, choosing Armarouge. Ed crossed his arms and pouted. “Oh you’re just saying that to be disagreeable, don’t lie.”
His partner laughed, chirps echoing in his armor. He moved his arm to point to his trainer, and brought it back to his body, like a fist pump. He did want to become Ceruledge, he just liked messing with his trainer. Ed stopped pouting and instead patted his partner on the head. With the decision settled, the group continued their trek. No more guesses were made on their way to the Rockbell house. They could be patient for the walk, and find out what Winry’s partner was when they got there.
===
The door clicked as the boys left the house. Trisha let out the cough she had been holding in. Pinako reached up to rub her back. “You’re sounding worse,” she said.
“I know,” Trisha responded, and she gave up on cutting the vegetables in favor of sitting at the table. Her Persian got up from where he was laying in the sun and rested his head on her lap. She pet him absentmindedly. “I don’t know what to do, Pinako. Hohenheim hasn’t sent a letter in months. I don’t know where he is, how to contact him. If he isn’t back by the time I…” She trailed off, looking out the window.
Pinako resumed the job of prepping the ingredients. She wanted to say that Hohenheim would return in time, she wanted to say it would all be okay, but she was certain he wouldn’t and nothing would end up alright. Nothing, of course, except for the well-being of the brothers- both sets. She would make sure they were taken care of. “I’ll be here for your boys, you know. Your Pokemon will be, too.” She decided on not making light of anything.
Trisha sighed. She appreciated Pinako more than anything, especially in telling her how it is. “Thank you. For everything you’ve done so far and for what you will do. I’ll never be able thank you enough.” She coughed again, scarlet droplets decorating her arm.
“You don’t have to thank me.” Without missing a beat, Pinako wet a towel and brought it to the young mother. She returned to her task on the cutting board.
☆☆☆
☆☆☆
Resembool – Late 1906
The brothers were in the backyard having a mock battle, observed by Golurk. They had studied battle strategies in their father’s books, and wanted to test them out. Ed had his Charcadet use smokescreen, covering the battlefield in a thick smog. Al’s jumped above the smoke, and a well placed ember sent Ed’s stumbling out of the cover. Al’s Charcadet then landed and quickly dove out of the smoke, tackling Ed’s to the ground. Ed’s kicked Al’s off of him, and was going to use his own ember before a shrill cry echoed from the house. From the sound of it, it was Weavile. The boys immediately stopped their battle and ran to the house. Golurk followed close behind.
“Weavile? What’s wrong?” Ed’s anxiety spiked as he entered through the back door. He knew something was wrong, only able to hear the frantic grunts from his mother’s Pokemon. As he rounded the corner to the hall, he saw his mother’s hand. Her whole body was splayed on the floor, like she just collapsed. Weavile was standing next to her, horror in her eyes. He gasped and ran forward. “Mom!?” He screamed and threw himself down in front of her, grabbing her shoulders to turn her over. Her eyes were open but the light was gone. A small amount of blood was dripping from her lips. She wasn’t breathing.
Al crept behind him. “Brother? Is mom okay?” He asked. His question was answered when he peered around his brother. His breath hitched and he stepped back. Golurk carefully padded around the boy and guided him to turn around. It vocalized at Ed, and stuck a large hand between Ed and his mother. It helped the small boy to his feet, and ushered them both out of the house. Their partners were waiting outside, worried looks behind their helmets.
Golurk returned inside, and began presumably talking to its compatriots. A few beeps sent Weavile out the front door, a few more sent Persian and Shuckle out back. Ed collapsed to the ground in tears, unable to get his mother’s lifeless look out of his mind. His Charcadet approached, and leaned his head to touch his trainer’s. Persian also walked up to Ed, rubbing against the boy. Al stood unnaturally still. Paralyzed in emotion. His blood ran cold as his mind replayed Weavile’s scream. His partner attempted to grab his hand, but Al’s fists wouldn’t budge. From the sound of heavy footsteps inside, the boys could tell that Golurk had picked up their mother’s body and moved her to the couch. It was a fleeting thought that her dead body would find any relief in being moved to a more comfortable location.
What seemed like hours passed of stillness, feeling hollow, silent, broken. This silence was broken by Weavile coming back through the front door, with Pinako and Winry alongside her. Pinako noticed the group in the backyard and the Golurk standing over the couch in the living room. “Go around, Winry.” She said, and the young girl walked away around the side of the house, worry painting her face as she stared into the dark home. Pinako entered the living room where Golurk was waiting for her – ironic use of the room, really.
Neither brother moved to look at their friend as she walked up. Her Aron trotted up to the younger brother and bumped his leg with affection. Al’s legs shook in fatigue and he knelt down, dust clouded as he dropped to the ground. His Charcadet, still holding his fist, looked at him in concern. Al let his hand relax, and he tiredly gripped his partner’s. Winry watched, sorrowed seeing the young boy so devastated. She turned her attention to Edward, who was sitting with his knees to his chest, gripping the sides of his head, fingers wrapped in his hair. His Charcadet was sitting next to him, hand on his shoulder.
Winry didn’t know whether to speak up or just offer a comforting presence. She could figure something catastrophic happened, by Ed’s red cheeks and eyes, and Al’s vacant stare. She opted to kneel by Ed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders into a hug.
“She’s dead.” His voice was hardly more than a whisper. “I can’t believe it but she’s really gone. Her eyes…”
Winry hugged tighter. “I’m so sorry.” It seemed like Ed hardly noticed her at all, his grip on his scalp barely loosened.
She let go and moved to Al. Her Aron was sitting patiently, head drooped as she studied Al. Winry knelt to Al’s side opposite his partner and hugged him as well. He raised a weak arm to reciprocate, and tears began flowing from his eyes. As his sobs got stronger, he let go of his partners hand and fully hugged Winry. She let him cry into her shirt and rubbed his back, trying to soothe him in any way at all. The sound of his brother’s agony snapped Ed back to life and he released his grip on his head. He grabbed his Charcadet’s hand, leading him over to the pair. He dropped to the ground, and joined the hug. Both Charcadets gave in and joined as well, followed by Persian wrapping his body as best he could around them. Weavile walked slowly to the back door, defeated. She watched the group collectively sob over the loss of their mother, aunt-like figure, friend. Her ears perked and her attention changed as Pinako also made her way to the back.
Pinako stood for several seconds, frowning at the prospect of the future. She loved the boys like they were her own grandchildren, but she knew they weren’t ready for the loss of their mother. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed that Hohenheim didn’t make it back in time, even though she knew he wouldn’t. She also thought of Trisha’s message, to apologize for not fulfilling the promise to not die before her husband. She closed her eyes and sighed, bowing her head while thinking of what to do next. The first step was to report the death, get the grave dug and the coffin prepared. That would take time, longer than they had for the rest of the day. She moved back to the kitchen, and wrote a note on a piece of scrap paper. She folded up the paper and approached the Weavile, who was still watching her. “I’m sorry to make you run more, but would you please bring this into town? If you give it to the first trainer you see, they should be able to bring it to the right person. And come back to my house when you’re done.”
Weavile chirped in compliance and took the note. She walked to the front door, taking what might be her last saddened look at her trainer. She then ran off down the path to town.
Pinako walked through the house, making sure everything was closed up. Golurk was still in the living room, standing haunted in the corner of the room. Pinako caught its attention, and gestured for it to follow her. The two exited the back door, seeing the group hug having broken up and its members now sitting in somewhat of a circle, silently sharing the weight of the passing. “Let’s go. Everyone’s coming to my house.” Pinako said gently, and the gaggle of young trainers and Pokemon stood to follow. It would’ve been a very slow walk if Golurk hadn’t picked up the two weary boys. One boy, Edward, watched the house from over Golurk’s shoulder. A fire lit behind his eyes as his home, his mother, shrunk in the growing distance.