Tamin's booted feet slid against the rock as she tried to climb to where Somerhane stood with the talisman. Her hand slid and she gasped, but with a small twist of her hand air swirled about her and she was lifted straight up into the air. She hovered locking eyes with Somerhane and he grinned and lashed out. Tamin held out her hand and his attack crashed with a sharp sound against her shield and shattered into little crystals that floated to the ground.

"Give me that talisman."

Somerhane laughed. "Go home, girlie, this is no place for a woman."

Tamin lifted her chin and pointed her finger at Somerhane. "You are a horrible man, you use this war as a vendetta for past wrongs!"

"So what? My ancestors were buried in a mass grave because they were accused of being witches – my sisters died during the Ishval Rebellion due to that damnable Flame Alchemist! I will have my vengeance, even if I die!"

He took aim at the young woman again, her eyes glowed a bright cyan blue and the air around her flared with power. "Try. But if you do you will die."

The man laughed, "What a threat! You don't scare me in the least!"

"I should," Tamin whispered and twisted her fingers together.

Somerhane dropped the talisman as his hands flew to his throat in a panic. His fingers clawed and he made gurgling sounds as he struggled to breath. But Tamin wasn't letting up, she squeezed her hand into a fist until she saw the man going blue in the face. His eyes were rolling back into his head and his body was shaking, trying to get the air it so desperately needed.

"In a few more seconds you'll be dead. So you'll kindly hand over the talisman and I'll let you live."

Somerhane nodded and she released him. He lay on the ground gasping for air. His fingers bit into the dirt and he pushed himself to his knees. "Take it," his voice was hoarse.

"Thanks," Tamin said and then with one flick of her wrist she slit his throat with a knife she'd hidden in her sleeve. "God, why don't the bad ones ever die easily?" she asked as he gargled for a few moments on his own blood before he stopped breathing. She picked up the talisman from where it lay on the ground and tucked it into her pocket. Once she was sure he was dead she headed over to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

Water spiraled through the canyon where the river raced. Her eyes searched frantically for the body of her friend. She saw a flash of gold and she dove through the air. Tamin hit the water with a splash and surfaced with a gasp. She pulled on Edward's shirt and hoisted him over her shoulder and swam for the shore.

"Damn," she hissed, "I can't do magic and hold him." A rather large current sucked her under and she lost her grip on Edward. She came to the surface spluttering and managed to grab ahold of Ed for a second time.

She hauled him up to a sandy patch of land and panted for breath. Her fingers were cold and shaking as she pressed them to his throat.

Come on, come on, she thought, but she couldn't find a pulse. Her fingers shook as she pressed them harder. She gave a little sob and leaned over him. She tilted his head back, pinched his nose, and breathed. She did chest compressions and switched back. But Edward didn't move.

Her whole body trembled as she stared down at Edward's lifeless form.

"You gave up everything for your friends and your family. You helped me even when you didn't have to. I owe you a great debt, Edward Elric."

She looked to the heavens and spoke, her voice rising, "Hear me, heavens, deities of the sun, the sky, the earth and the moon! Answer my call!"

There was the whisper of a voice on the wind and Tamin pulled the glowing talisman from her pocket. "It will only work once, daughter of the goddess of the wind, so use it wisely. It will activate upon a selfless sacrifice."

"Thank you," her voice broke on the last word as the wind disappeared. She leaned over Ed and placed the talisman on his chest and put her hand over the talisman. What can I use for a sacrifice? Selfless?

My sacrifice is this. She began to push the energy through the talisman and into Ed's body. A golden and blue light surrounded him, wrapped over him. It swirled over all his wounds healing them – including his automail leg – and up to where his heart no longer beat. She could feel her magic invading where his alchemy was, she could feel it stealing some of the power. It's using it for energy! She thought in surprise, it's making his alchemy and his life balanced! It sat there on his chest for a moment and then Edward gave a little gasp, choking on the air.

And Tamin let the tears slip from her eyes as her vision blurred. "It is equivalent…exchange."

Her eyes closed as she slumped forward. A life for a life.

Edward jerked upright as Tamin's voice faded. He scrabbled and pulled her upright. He pressed his fingers against her wrist, but there was no pulse and there in the back of his mind words were whispered, "She used it, she really used the talisman." It lay lifeless and empty on the ground next to them. He picked it up and held it in his hand a moment before tossing it into the now still water. He watched as ripples moved out from where it had landed. She was a demi-goddess, the voice whispered, now she resides with us.

He heard the creak of rock and looked up.

"EDWARD!" the call was hoarse and he looked up, tears beaded on his lids as Roy stared down.

"Are you alright?" Roy called.

Ed gave a little sob and his whole body shook. Roy clambered down the rock and Ed grasped his hand.

They climbed the rest of the way up together. "We'll get her body later," Al told his brother softly.

And there on the barren rock, bursts of green shot up through the cracks and grass formed.

Roy clasped Ed close to him, kept him in a tight hug. The sky was a dazzling blue and as Ed looked up so did Roy.

"You saved me," he whispered with his eyes closed and his head tipped back to the heavens, "thank you." A warm zephyr ruffled his hair and clothes before fading into the air.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The End.