Envy: *reading script on back of biology quiz with large 70 on it* Okay, Ace is still afraid of being murdered because she killed off character(s), so she's not coming out for another chapter, and that's only if the reviewers promise not to kill her off. Meanwhile, Roy's in therapy for the breaking of his "no-rape stick", Ed's in rape-therapy, Kayla's in Rapers Anonymous, Lela's dead *sob*, and Sonya and Greed are currently doing unspeakable things in the hospital, *mutters "Aw damn, why can't Lela and I have a hospital trip?"*

Knowledge: I will be helping to answer the reviews, in addition to...

Havoc: Me!

Armstrong: ME WITH ALL MY SPARKLES!

Riza: And me. Oh joy.

Knowledge: Okay, CSI Aphrodite is first. We already established where Ace is, and yeah, Sonya's life really sucks, and it doesn't get better in chapter 8.

Riza: *cocks gun* No spoilers.

Havoc: And yeah, Charity's important, but she's not in this chapter.

Armstrong: I don't really know what to say about Lela's suicide. I don't really know this chic.

Envy: I WILL NOW PROCEED TO RUN AWAY BEFORE YOU ASK MY REACTION! *runs away*

Knowledge: And yes, you may bring your weasel minions to Narnia with you.

Armstrong: THEN HERE IS YOUR LELA PLUSHEE, MADE WITH THE TECHINQUE PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE GENERATIONS!

Riza: That goes to Furorensu-chan.

Armstrong: I knew that. *hands plushee to correct person*

Havoc: And you shouldn't tell that to the Colonel... it might make him fear therapy in addition to whatever he's going to therapy for in the first place.

Knowledge: And Ace regrets killing Lela, but she redeems herself, sort of, in this chapter.

Envy: *comes back* Rawr, Ace wasn't gonna do any more up here, but then she got another review. Thanks neoko-chan. Thanks a lot. I'll also be sure to tell Greed once he gets back from the hospital that he needs to go get his cock sporked off, but I'm not saying anything else 'cuz I don't want to die. In fact... *runs off again so he doesn't get killed and to look for a leftover Lela plushee*

Havoc: Oh, and if Kayla were here, she'd go all rabid on you too because you just called Ed short. She does that. *shivers at memory*

Armstrong: Remember the time-

Everyone else: YES.

Riza: Ace also appreciates the marshmallow launcher and intends to use it if things don't turn out amicably. Now that we got that settled, let's move onto what she already had, shall we?

Havoc: Ace5980 does not own FullMetal Alchemist.

Armstrong: *sparkle sparkle rose-petal-who-thinks-he's-a-sparkle sparkle-who-thinks-he's-a-rose-petal* NOW READ THE STORY, YOU GREAT PEOPLE!

Riza: *disturbed look on face* Remind me why we have to do this again...

6: The River of Sorrows

"Wisdom!" Knowledge cried, running into the older girl's arms and burying himself happily in her embrace.

The angel returned his enthusiasm instantly, her body on autopilot, and her eyes were distant and sorrowful. "I love you, Knowledge. You know that, right? I love you, and I always will."

He frowned, pulling back a little to look at her. "What's wrong, Wisdom? Why are you saying that like it's a goodbye?"

"I'm not coming back, Knowledge," the female whispered. "I will meet my death at the hands of the ones I once called friends, an event that is eminent on the horizon. Perhaps it may be years later, but it will happen."

"NO!" he cried, clinging to her. "I don't want you to go!"

"I have to go, love," she murmured, kissing his forehead. "Remember, while I will meet my death at the hands of an enemy, yours will come at the hands of a friend.

Knowledge's wings ached by the time he found where Sonya had crash-landed, yet he was relieved he had even managed to find her at all. The angel landed heavily, folding his wings delicately across his back, then yelped in surprise and pain. His fingers scrabbled desperately at his chest in vain, snapping the shaft but proving unable to pull the arrow of Stygian ice from his body. "Damn you, Paradox," he gasped, his hand falling heavily on Sonya's transmutation circle, "Damn you." There is, after all, nothing an angel can do to survive anything taken from the River Styx, the river of death.

Kayla was really confused, and in all honesty, suffering. So far today, she'd been shot at, turned traitor, nearly crushed by a large muscular shirt-less guy, almost choked to death on a sparkle, and now she'd lost the trail among the maze of corridors. The others were just as edgy, anxious since the angel had flown off but committed to the mission, regardless of the cost. Closing her eyes, she thought hard about the pools of liquid gold, concentrating solely on his essence. Her tail shot up and she shot off like a rocket, the humans running to keep up with her. Something was wrong; she could feel it in her soul.

Knowledge, wings sagging heavily behind him, limped into the main experiment room, ignoring the lower circle. Wearily, he flapped his wings but only managed to advance one tier before falling to the ground, too weak to fly. The dying angel looked up to see a boy with jet-black cat ears and a slender black tail kneeling beside the lifeless form of Lela Animalia, unaware of the tears coursing down his face of Knowledge's clumsy unplanned landing. "Lela, Lela, please," he begged, tracing her face tenderly, "come back to me. I love you. I'm strong enough to hold you now, to properly deserve you now. I, I just don't want to be alone again."

Sonya groaned as she pushed herself up off concrete, wincing. No matter how bad of a headache she had though, it wouldn't be enough to slow the instant flick of Final Judgment through the human pawn's heart, even though she had to press her lips together to suppress a scream at the lance of pain from not using due process, but there was no way in hell she was pausing long enough to get transmuted again, not even to see Greed.

The angel froze, her heart fluttering, when she saw the flecks of drying ichor on the floor. It couldn't be true. It couldn't! Yet she could not deny the snow-white feathers strewn across the hall. Knowledge was injured. She stumbled to the entryway, eyes fixated on her male counterpart as he pulled himself over to the cat chimeras before disappearing in a shaft of golden light, his eyes closed and a smile on his face. "No," she whispered, sinking to the ground, her shoulders shaking from the force of her sobs. Sonya had gambled big, and she had lost everything.

If anyone had asked why Knowledge had given up his life for that of a complete stranger, he would have told them it had reminded him of himself all those years ago. No one did of course, but the angel couldn't help but feel his death was justified. Now, after all this time, he could finally be at peace with himself. He had done a good deed.

It was then as he felt the essence holding together at the edges fraying when he saw it. There, standing before him in all her glory, was his love, his angel, his companion-in-arms. "Wisdom," he breathed, delighting in her presence.

She smiled, caressing his cheek fondly with a hand. "You've done well without me, my little fox. You look good."

"I've missed you so much, love. Grace told me it would hurt to lose the one you loved, but never did I imagine such agony."

"Come on, Knowledge," she murmured sweetly, "it's time to come home."

Roy and the others did not see much of what had happened, but they did get to see the rare sight of an angel fading into nothingness. "Damn," Jean muttered, shocked at how calmly the immortal had carried himself into death.

"He deserves a hero's welcome, wherever he goes," Riza commented, her voice thick with tears.

"Knowledge will be sorely missed!" Alex lamented, his own tears falling unashamedly down his face.

Roy, on the other hand, decided to honor the angel the only way he thought he could. The alchemist vaguely remembered a prayer for the dead, and even though he didn't believe in God, he could put that aside for the angel. "Pie Jesu Domine, dona eis requiem. Sempiternam." Somewhere off in the distance behind the words, a raven cawed as it landed beside a small forest stream...

Knowledge: WISDOM! *hugs Wisdom*

Wisdom: Heya, little fox.

Knowledge: I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!

Wisdom: I know, and if the reviewers ask for it, Ace might include us in the cut scenes.

Knowledge: YAY US! *the pair walk off*

Havoc: Okay, now there's three very important things we need to discuss today.

Riza: First off, Ace would like to tell you that there is an important poll that may determine the fate of this story on her profile. If you would like to continue reading, vote now.

Armstrong: Ace would also like to ask for fanart of her characters because she can't draw out of her head and her friend Kimbley won't draw them for her, even when she asked him to do Knowledge as a tribute. The only pre-request would be that she gets the link so that she can put it up for the rest of you to see.

Envy: WHERE'S MY LELA PLUSHEE?

Havoc: Um, we kinda didn't make extras...

Envy: *screams in agony*

Riza: *pats on shoulder* There there. Everyone comes back in the next two chapters, so...

Armstrong: Um, what do we give reviewers? *is hit on head by paper ball* AH! ACE HAS ALLOTED KNOWLEDGE PLUSHEES AS A SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO THE ANGEL FOR REVIEWERS THIS CHAPTER!

Havoc: Please tell me Ace isn't in trouble anymore 'cuz I really don't want to ever do this again.

Riza: Likewise.

Armstrong: I think it manly and chivalrous to help a damsel in distress.

Havoc and Riza: ... Yeah, never again.