I decided to write a prologue because I want to delay chapter 11. XD
I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
Roy Mustang hated riots; he really did, especially when it involved some whacked up alchemist using his talent to harm the people rather than helping them. Sorting it out was usually complicated since Roy had to keep the criminal alive. And that typically ended the lives of several soldiers, so he needed to finish the job as quickly as possible.
That thought drove him to speed up his car as he arrived at the scene. A crowd of military men surrounded what seemed to be a battered, unrecognizable building where the source of shouts and screams was uprising from. As the Flame Alchemist stepped out, the men separated to allow him through, knowing with relief who this was. The Hero of Ishbal was finally here, and along with the Fullmetal Alchemist, they were sure to settle the situation pronto.
Roy located Edward along the front lines immediately, for though Ed may be small, his blonde head was almost impossible to miss.
"Ed," Roy barked the minute he caught up to the short alchemist, "I want a report."
Ed launched into a detailed and notably heated description of the situation. "An idiot of an alchemist is in that building with a whole family held as hostages. He doesn't seem to want a guaranteed safe passage. This has something to do with revenge and whatnot, which is just irrational and pointless. I swear, if something happens to that family…" Ed lost Roy's attention at this point.
Roy wordlessly noted Ed's regular anger in this particular riot. Since Ed had no real family of his own, it only made sense that he would try to protect those who has.
A sudden scream erupted into the air, silencing everyone. All eyes stared down at the beat-up structure, waiting to see what's happened. Collective clicks repeated as each person reloaded their guns at the sight of a small cluster of people walking steadily out the building. Amidst the group, stood the crazy alchemist, shielded from all sides by a circle of the hostages. He forced the terrified assembly on with a somewhat hastily transmuted and crooked knife. In his other hand, he held a loaded gun.
The man of the family, evidently the father, glanced around his options. He could let the alchemist do whatever he wants and lead them away from the soldiers, or he can attack and perhaps escape safely as the military rushed at them. He chose the latter. After all, he wasn't about to let some threat to his family flee by using them.
Like all fathers, his motives had been for the good, but his plan wasn't well thought through.
The father elbowed the alchemist in the face, and the guy lost his grip on the knife as his hand fled to his face. The entire family seized that chance and ran like hell towards safety. But the alchemist recovered a bit too quickly and found his other weapon the gun. He aimed it recklessly and shot. Luck seemed to have made a nasty choice to be on his side, for the bullet struck home in the father's back.
The mother let out an ear piercing shriek and dropped to her knees. That was her mistake. When the husband fell, she should've taken responsibility and supported her two children to the cover of the soldiers. But when she broke down with grief, her kids were clueless of where to turn. One way was their parents; the other was a crowd of armed and complete strangers. The more favorable choice seemed obvious.
The alchemist pointed his gun again, this time targeting the mother. That's when Ed flipped. Edward has never been a fan of dads, considering his history with his own, but his father had left them on purpose. This man, on the other hand, hadn't wanted to leave his family all alone, and that was good enough for Ed. His heart went out to the two little boys especially. They already lost a father; Ed knew how unbearable it would be to lose a mother.
Edward launched forward toward the mom, all else forgotten. He didn't know what he was doing. He wasn't even considering alternatives. There was no time to strategize and plan. It was now or never. And Ed chose now. He always was one to be irrational and rash…
The bullet never reached the mother. It was stopped short by two feet, stuck in the chest of Edward Elric.
It was like the calm before the storm, or maybe it should be considered the calm before a bigger storm seeing that a storm has already passed through. Either way, all was quiet as every eye stared at Ed, every man praying they were wrong. They could not have seen that. They could not have just seen that bullet struck the Fullmetal Alchemist in the chest. But much to their dismay, Ed toppled back, falling on the now even more frightened woman.
Roy snapped into action, literally. He sent streaks of fire after the damned alchemist, who was now conjuring his best shield from what he could gather in the ground. His hastily alchemized cover disintegrated in the advance of the Flame Alchemist's inferno. But the alchemist had an incredible endurance. He ran for the building again, despite the second-degree burns along his entire body.
If Roy had attacked again, the man would most surely have died. But Mustang had more worry for Ed than that bastard. Roy was already by the boy's side, watching as the bloody blonde was loaded onto a stretcher and rushed into a makeshift hospital being set up the very moment. Doctors, or at least people who called themselves doctors, crowded around Ed, now working on him with everything they've got. Mustang and a few random others stood off to the side, waiting patiently with dread flowing through their whole body.
Nobody had cared to watch time, so no one knew for sure how long it took before the doctors stepped back in defeat. They shook their heads hopelessly. It was either let the boy suffer his last few breaths or end his pain sooner with a scalpel. Just as a brave doctor advanced with the tiny knife, Ed stirred. Hope flooded back into the residents of the room, and the surgeons rushed around Ed again, but Edward waved them off. Even he, while suffering slight disorientation, knew his chances of survival were bleak. The only thing he wanted now was a word with Al. But since that was obviously impossible, he had to use a deliverer for his message. The only one he trusted enough here was Roy Mustang. As much as he disliked the man, he still had faith in him.
Roy stepped forward when Ed indicated at him with a small flick of his finger. Still amazed that Edward was even conscious, Roy went up. He knew Ed had something to say, something probably for Alphonse. But Roy couldn't make out the scrambled words.
Ed couldn't even begin to say what he intended to. Everything he had to confess to Al could fill a dozen pages, half a minute wasn't nearly enough. But Ed knew what he would find the most comfort in telling Al. And it wasn't the typical, 'I love you' shit or, 'Remember me forever' mumbo jumbo. Ed was already sure Al would do that. What he needed reassurance in was something else.
Mustang leaned in closer, wincing at the sound of slight gurgling. "Fullmetal, what? I can't understand you."
"Al…" Edward Elric got no further. His last breath escaped with a sigh, as though finally releasing all the burdens and guilt he has been carrying for nearly half his life. Ed's unusually radiant eyes now glazed over to a disgusting dull as death took its claim on him. The Fullmetal Alchemist was no more.
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Edward stood dumbly at the Gate. Somewhere in his subconscious, he saw the thin, black arms stretch out for him. He felt their disgusting touch as they wrapped around his limbs and waist, dragging him into the Gate as it creaked open. But Ed didn't care. He's been through all this already.
There was only one thought conscious in his mind as he closed his eyes against the dazzling light:
I just hope Al can still find it in his heart to forgive his big brother…
I had to combine chapters 1 and 2 so that I can fit this in at the beginning without deleting everything. I don't know if this can be reviewed. If not, then please send me a PM. Yes, that would be nice. XD Thank you for reading this and if you find any grammar mistakes, point them out for me.