Sorry for the huge wait...but I had to read up to 262 of Bleach, 341 of Naruto68 of Fullmetal...and increase wordcount from 125 to 2317...on top of that I totally failed my chem-lab that has yet to be marked, but I'm panicking anyway!!! On top of that, Bio just got sooo interesting...if you don't know what I'm talking about go read my Zelda fanfic...there's more bio facts to come...bwahahaha...
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist or any of its characters. If I did, I would have insisted that Envy be a man in the English dubbing of the series, and the anime would still be going on, without all the weirdness.
Deep breaths. Calm down. Calm down. Somehow he didn't think he could do that right now. It would only be a matter of minutes before that thing would realize where he'd gone. Calm down. Calm down…Man was he lucky that this Gluttony was stupid…In his situation it was hard to see the upside of the Homunculus' rage but at least it wasn't thinking clearly…if it could that is.
Colonel Roy Mustang forced himself to breathe. Damn. Was he really so weak as to not be able to fight against this monster? He could already hear Fullmetal's snide remarks.
'Don' you dare go dying on her.'
He was surprised. Instead of Ed, it was Alric's voice that he heard first. Then again, the two looked so similar that if Alric didn't have female secondary sexual characteristics, they'd be identical…well, almost.
A loud clang not too far off from his current position almost made him jump. He was going to die…he was going to die…He shook his head firmly, trying to focus on the Homunculus' movements. Judging from the noises…Heck, with all the explosions going on, who knew what was happening. I'm going to die… he thought morosely. Then it hit him just exactly how much he didn't want to die. His hands clenched into fists and had begun to shake violently. If he died, all his dreams would go unfulfilled, and hundreds of innocents would pay for his mistakes again…
'Don't you dare go dying on her'
She obviously meant the First-Lieutenant. His fear was suddenly replaced with indignation.
Was EVERYONE firmly convinced that there was something going on between them?!? IT must have been Hughes…him and all his rumors and gossip. He'd probably mentioned Ishbal. Damn that idiot. If he wasn't already dead.
He'd be here risking his neck… he thought somberly.
"MUSTANG?!?! WHERE?!?! LUST!!!YOU KILLED LUST!!!!" he heard Gluttony yell. THAT, that was way too close. He bolted.
It proved to be the correct decision as Gluttony came tearing through the wall after him.
Aww geez…How come he was the only one running around like a rat in a maze? He caught a glimpse of the three from Xing engaged in battle. They seemed to be winning…unlike him…
8.8.8
"Hey, isn't that the Colonel?" pointed Ling. Wrath glanced briefly in the direction indicated.
"Why, yes it—"
Ling's sword came in contact with his blade. He'd barely blocked that one.
"Can't believe you fell for that one…" chuckled the boy.
"Your comrade is in danger and you use him as a ploy?"
"No. I just noticed him, that's all." He said grinning all the more.
Seriously…this guy was getting on his nerves…
8.8.8
He'd thought that it would be easier ever since Al showed up. But now it was just getting harder. Envy kept switching into either him or his brother, in attempts to distract them. And it was working…unfortunately. Al kept falling for it every time. Ed never did, since he constantly watched his brother like a hawk from the corner of his eye. Al on the other hand, was constantly being shocked by seeing two Ed's from time to time. Envy was seriously getting on his nerves…And sadly, Al was beginning to become a bit of a pain. Ed had always been the better fighter…well he had lost most of the fights they had as kids, but he always, always won when it actually mattered.
Al had always been the more cool-headed one, but his gentle-nature wasn't much help against a Homunculus. Ed's fiery temper and split second improvisations, that anyone with half a brain would deem incredibly stupid, turned out to be the greatest combat style ever. It was easier to read an intelligent fighting plan, and even easier to counter one. Stupidity and unpredictability were two things that usually went hand in hand, and had a tendency to end terribly, but so far it was keeping him and his brother alive.
Seriously. You'd think they'd murder him now that it was two on one, but the younger Elric brother wasn't helping Edward out too much. He kept getting in the shorter boy's way, which gave Envy more opportunities to cut the already bleeding Fullmetal Alchemist some more, while he pulled off impressive feats to keep his little brother from harm. At this rate, Edward Elric would be dead in no time.
Ed had no clue how much longer he could keep this up… he had already been fighting injured, and now he had to keep on fighting. His temper could only fuel him for so long…Now he lacked the energy to even shout insults at Envy for every time he called him 'short'. He was so not short! He was just slightly under average size…by an inch…or two…But that did not make him short!! A sudden sharp pain in his side nearly forced him to his knees. His prediction that some of his wounds turning fatal was beginning to proving themselves true. He was losing way too much blood, and his vision was beginning to get a bit foggy. He felt his knees buckling and the warm, sickeningly metallic taste of hot blood in his mouth caused him to gag. He felt as if the world was falling all around him…The ground beneath his feet began to shake…So this was how it would end, huh?
"ED!!!!!!!!!!" he heard a vaguely familiar voice shout, just as he collapsed.
8.8.8
Damn. Just when things couldn't possibly have gotten worse… Alric and Mustang just happened to end up where Ed and Al were fighting…with Gluttony, rolling after them. The fat moron had somehow gotten it into his head that he was faster when he rolled, and he was correct.
So far the only good thing that had happened after she had dropped Al off here…was nothing, from the looks of it. In fact the alchemists looked a bit worse for the wear…Just what was that idiot thinking?!…Then she saw Ed fall.
Her heart felt as if it had suddenly froze and stopped, in such a way so similar to having a stake run through it…Still struggling to pump rapidly despite the sharp object piercing the muscle… the tightness in her throat akin to the sensation of hot blood and flesh catching inside her throat…All before the inevitable end of death…But for a Homunculus, there was no such thing as death…They were the abominations that defied the laws of this world, the laws of nature…the laws of time…
"ED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
8.8.8
At Alric's scream, Mustang completely forgot that he was being chased by an enormous, two hundred, possibly four hundred pound Homunculus. The Fullmetal Alchemist had just collapsed with a gentle, sickening thud to the rubble strewn floor. For a moment, Roy Mustang just found himself staring at the boy's limp, blood-stained body, then an explosion about two metres away from himself brought him sharply back to reality.
"Alphonse! RUN!!" he shouted, moving fast himself.
"I can't let you do that, Mr. Flame Alchemist…" he heard someone say behind him, and he whirled around to find himself staring into a pair of cold purple eyes.
The Colonel managed to dodge a swipe that would have taken off his head by an inch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Alric on her knees in front of Edward's body. If he wasn't dead, Alric could save him…but if he already was…
No.
The Edward he knew was strong, and would fight to the end with his last breath, cursing his enemy for some supposed slight to his stature... The Edward he knew would probably beat the crap out of the grim reaper if he tried to take him before he could get even with the Colonel. If he remembered correctly, Ed still hadn't gotten his revenge for the time Mustang had made a few… 'suggestive' remarks a few years back…
"The Fullmetal Runt is dead. A pity…a waste of a good sacrifice…" said Envy, grinning, as he tried yet again to skewer the Flame Alchemist.
"You're lying," blurted Roy immediately, his voice revealing his fear.
"Why should I? I killed him myself."
Roy's eyes widened slightly. He really shouldn't be taking anything this walking palm-tree said to be true…
"He's as dead as Lt. Colonel Hughes. Oh yeah, he was your friend wasn't he?" smirked the Homunculus.
At that Roy's eyes widened even further. In a brusque sudden movement, he snapped his fingers, and the Homunculus burst into flames. And then he noticed something happening a few metres back.
"Oh crap…"
8.8.8
Consciousness came back to him slowly. Was he dead? A twinge of pain in his side indicated that he wasn't, unless you could still feel pain when you died…which would totally suck. Then being dead wouldn't be that much different than life…but then again, he had seen what 'Hell' looked like, and it wasn't so bad…
I'd be able to see Mom again…he thought as his vision began to refocus. He had met her there…beyond the Gate of Truth…
Trisha Elric had been seven years old…on that side. Ed wasn't sure if it was a coincidence, but she had been the one who found him, when he had fallen from the sky. Alric had said that everyone was inadvertently drawn to people they had known from the other side. Because they were the same. They may grow up under different circumstances, but they were still the same people…
"Don't you dare die on me…Don't you dare leave me alone again. Don't you dare!" he heard a female voice whisper fiercely. His eyes focused again, and he looked around with just his eyes, to see Alric kneeling over him.
"Alric?" he murmured softly.
She looked towards his face. She had been crying…Alric wiped her cloudy golden eyes with the back of her arm.
"Good you're awake…Just bear with this for a moment…" she mumbled to half to herself, as she slapped her hands together and placed them gently upon his body.
"AGGGGWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
8.8.8
For a moment, Hawkeye looked up and behind herself. That scream… that had been Ed's voice. A sliver of fear permeated through her mind. She hoped that he was okay…An explosion from the same direction almost made her heart stop. In such a situation it was hard to see how anyone could possibly be 'okay'…
8.8.8
It had been imperative that Ed was awake before she transmuted his injuries out of existence. If not, she might have killed him…If she had killed him, she'd probably kill herself, and everyone else in a three hundred mile radius in an attempt to bring him back to life…Or she would have forgotten everything else and travel back to the other side of the gate and find him…Homunculi were such selfish creatures…
"So are humans…" she heard Ed gasp, as he sat up. It suddenly occurred to her that she had said that last thought aloud.
"In fact when you think about it, the origin of all seven of the Deadly sins would be selfishness…" he said.
"You scared me…" she whispered softly, "I thought you were dead…"
"If I was dead, you'd have killed me by now!" he laughed.
"It's not funny! What would happen to Al if you died again?! What would I do if you died for real?" she shouted at him.
"There is no way. No way in hell, that I would get myself killed by that gender confused, cross-dressing bastard," said Ed confidently.
"You're such an idiot…" she muttered, trying to frown, but instead found herself smiling.
An explosion brought both of them out of that little moment, as well as the sound of Roy Mustang shouting out in bewilderment, horror, shock, and incredulity, or a combination thereof.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!?!"
Alric looked off in that direction.
"I think he found the melting pot…" she said softly. Ed looked at her confused.
"melting pot?"
"It's complicated, and I really don't know what it is myself, but it turns Homunculi into their elementary state…namely a lump of the Stone…"
"Turns them to stone…hmmm…I think I've got an idea…" said Ed grinning.
8.8.8
Alphonse glanced over at Ed and Alric. Good…Nii-san was healed. That was good. They'd probably go off to help the Colonel. That meant he could focus all his energy entirely upon beating the crap out of Envy…When the Colonel had burnt the green-haired Homunculus to a crisp, he had seen Gluttony, rolling straight for him. And like any sane being, he ran for it. Unfortunately for Envy, who hadn't seen his sibling coming, he was crushed as flat as a pancake…well as much as was physically possible. It wasn't possible to actually crush a person's bones to a fine enough powder with just one pass of a two to four hundred pound weight. The mess Envy had left had been rather disgusting really.
When a person was flattened, their skull collapsed upon itself, leaving jagged shapes within Envy's general head area, as well as causing massive blood loss from the head cavity, and brains to be splattered everywhere, if the weight was moving fast enough. Envy's ribs had pierced straight through his front when they had fractured and had been pushed downwards, leaving a bloody tangle of cloth, flesh and blood on the ground. For a while, Al had thought that the Homunculus had actually died for real, until he heard a groan and a stream of curses come from the spiky haired teenager.
Oh well, he guessed it was for the best. If Alric hadn't already left, she'd be the one pounding him to a pulp, and getting emotionally damaged by the Homunculus. Why Envy had done what he had to her was beyond Alphonse's ability to understand. They had been siblings…ewww…That meant that it was…Alphonse had to keep himself from barfing. Okay, maybe he shouldn't worry about that sort of thing…It would be best if he just concentrated on fighting. Yes. Concentrate on fighting, not about the disgusting details of Envy's actions…ick…
Crappy ending to the chapter, I know...but if you want to know what's going to happen, you had better wait. I'm going to China for the March Break, so when I get back, I hope to see a tonne of reviews, or what happened with Second Chance's ending will happen again. Do you want that? OrangeKittyAlchemist-Sony tells me no.