Soul Alchemist Ch. 9
Finally, it's completed!!! I started this fic last year!!! Yeah so this fic took very very long to write and is probably the longest chapter I've ever Written! I'm sorry it took so long, so I really appreciate those who stuck with it. Thanks to all who commented and liked my story, I'm very proud of it and hope you all like this final chapter. I tried really hard to make it worth the wait so enjoy
Title: The Soul Alchemist: Kid's Final Battle
Author: Frankie_the_cat
Rating: R (for swearing?)
Warnings: Very long, emotional, very long!
Summary: The battle around them raged on as Isaac and his opponent starred into each other’s heart. Now was the real battle, the battle of two who once called each other friends. One would die today.
The state alchemist returned from the alley nervously searching the area as he walked back to the soldiers waiting for him. “First lieutenant Burnam.”
“Yes, Sir?” The First Lieutanant replied.
“Inform the Colonel that we need to move in on the rebels tonight.” The Soul alchemist informed his subordinate.
“Yes, Sir!” Said Burnam as he took off down the street toward their base of operations.
The Alchemist looked up at Mt. Briggs, an eerie feeling crept over him. Something wasn’t right, he could sense it. “Then again, when isn’t something “not right” he said to himself.
As the man began to slowly wander back towards the small inn they were using as their base, he couldn’t help but think of his brother. He missed him so much, and couldn’t wait to go home. But he was afraid, no one had actually expected the rebels to be here at Grimrock, so finding there was a large group of them at the base of Mt. Briggs wasn’t exactly good news.
As the brunette came to the front door of the small inn he was met by First Lieutenant Burnam. “Major Alphonse sir?” The man’s voice was nervous.
“Yes David?”
“Are we really going to move in on the rebels tonight?”
“Yes, we are.” The First Lieutenant’s facial expression dropped then. “What’s wrong?”
“Well…how do you know we can trust this Palmer guy?”
“I don’t.”
Chapter 9: Kid’s Final Battle
Edward thought while Kid watched. Ed wanted to leave, take his brother and get away from this place. Yet another part of him knew that he had to stay…stay and fight.
“So…what are we going to do?” Kid asked in the silence of the tent.
“Well, we’re going to do what we have to do. Isaac needs to be stopped.” The older brother replied.
“Alright, I have an idea. Isaac thinks I’m getting ready for the attack in my tent, but he’ll no doubt be checking up on me soon, and when he finds I’m not there he’ll come here first. So before we do anything we need to get away as soon as possible.” And at Kid’s very last word the sound of snapping twigs in the distance reached their ears. “Come on let’s go!”
The two quickly dashed through the back of the tent. Unfortunately there was nothing but tree’s before them. “We can’t get away in time, they’ll catch us if we try to run.” Edward announced as the noise came closer. “We need to hide.”
“Right!” The younger said as he clapped his hands and placed them upon the ground.
Seconds later Isaac burst into the tent followed closely by Jovan. “I told you, you shouldn’t have trusted that rat! He’s made off with our only hostage!”
“Calm down Jovan.” The huge man replied calmly. “It hasn’t been long since the boy departed from our sight, he couldn’t have gotten too far.”
The rear flap of the tent flew open as Isaac and Jovan stepped out. Searching the area they could see nothing but tree’s and piles of leaves. “Dammit! I told you they’d be gone! Now what are we going to do about Grimrock!”
“Grimrock? We’re going to destroy Grimrock remember.” The deep voice sounded eerie as it left the mans lips.
“How? We never had a back up plan!”
“The same way we killed the squad of soldiers those three years ago.”
“A raid!? You want to raid Grimrock!? We don’t have as many men as we did back then! It would be suicide!”
A great whoosh of air scattered the nearby leaves as Isaac turned to face Jovan. “Do not fear, you will get your revenge on the state today, we are powerful enough without the alchemist.”
With an angry growl the shorter man turned and marched away, leaving his superior where he stood. Just as Isaac made to leave he stole one last glance towards the woods, when something caught his eye. Only a few feet away was a rather tall tree stump that seemed out of place where it stood. Then a smile came to Isaac’s face.
“You hear that Kid! We don’t need you, and Grimrock will be destroyed no matter what! So go ahead…try and stop me.” And with another great whoosh the man was gone.
The woods were silent for a while after that, but after sometime the muffled cries of two young men rang through the trees. Then, with a burst of energy, the strange looking tree stump exploded, revealing its prisoners. The two men fell to the floor panting heavily.
“Jeez Al! You tryin to KILL US!” The older exclaimed between breaths.
“I’m sorry! I was in a hurry-huf-I forgot to make air holes-huf,huf”
After regaining their breath the two leapt to their feet. “How did Isaac know we were here!?” Edward exclaimed, “And why didn’t he kill us!?”
Kid starred at the ground, his fingers fidgeting slightly “Well, Isaac and I would practice my alchemy by transmuting tree stumps into different shapes, so he knows how my alchemy looks.”
“Well that makes sense, but why didn’t he slaughter us when he had the chance?” Edward asked in confusion.
Kid starred at the ground some more, “I…I think he feels betrayed.”
“…what?”
“Well, Isaac and I…well we sort of became friends…”
“…are you serious!?”
“…well…It’s not my fault! How was I supposed to know he was the bad guy! Maybe you’ve forgotten but I have amnesia!”
“Okay, okay! Sorry! But that still doesn’t answer the question. Why didn’t he kill us?”
“Well…Isaac is a very noble man, killing us like that would have been dishonorable to our friendship. I think he wants me to challenge him in a more honorable way.” Kid replied matter of factly.
Edward starred at his brother in confusion. “I don’t get it, but if Isaac wants a fight…he’ll get one. Come on Al, we’ve got work to do!” And at that the brothers took off through the wilderness.
*
“There you are.” Jovan said as his superior approached the main tent. Many rebels were beginning to gather their, waiting for news of what they would do now. “So now what Isaac. Is there some special plan for this raid, or are we just going to go in guns-a-blazing?”
Isaac took a long hard look at his men before he spoke. “Men of Drachma! Too long has the State been in power! Too long has Drachma cowered in the shadow of Mt. Briggs. Today, we will show the state that Drachma is still a threat to their people. We will show them that Drachms is their GREATEST THREAT! We will attack Grimrock today, without the help of the alchemist. And we will win!”
There was a low mumbling amongst the men, “And how will we do that,” A random man in the crowd yelled, “we only have fifty five men! It would be suicide if we don’t use the alchemist!”
“We don’t NEED the alchemist! He has abandoned us out of fear!”
“Then he was the smart one!” Another man yelled.
“Are you saying your afraid!?” Isaac yelled, “Are Drachma’s finest saying they are scared?” The crowd was silent then, “Listen to me! It is true; we are outnumbered, but not outgunned! We are the soldiers of Drachma, the true soldiers of Drachma! Our country does nothing as the State moves closer and closer to our home, threatening to take our families! We all know what they can do, Jovan is living proof of their destruction.”
“Is it really true sir?” A rebel stepped forward to ask Jovan. “Did the state really destroy your homeland? We’ve all heard the stories in Drachma, the stories of Ishbal being annihilated by the State Alchemists. But we never saw any proof.”
The dark skinned man stood silent, his face stoic. He had never spoken of where he was from, all the men knew about him was that he was a friend of Isaac from long ago. “…yes…the stories are TRUE! My entire family was murdered by the State! They have power no living being should ever possess! I watched…as my family…MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS…were turned into human bombs! And used to kill the rest of my family and friends! I am here, with you Drachmians, because I want REVENGE! Revenge against the State for what they did! And I tell you now, if you do nothing the same fate that took my country from me, awaits Drachma!”
For a long time the camp was silent as they all processed the new data. Finally Isaac spoke once more, “What say you men!? Shall we do nothing? Shall we wait and let Drachma be destroyed the way Ishbal was? Or shall we unleash Drachma’s fury, and open the gates of HELL!!!” The camp roared with thunderous cheers and applause. “FOREWARD, ON TO GRIMROCK!”
Without hesitation, the entire camp began their march, toward the unsuspecting town of Grimrock.
*
Bushes stirred as the two brothers leapt out of the woods and onto the boarders of the town. “Come on Al, we have to warn them!”
“Right!” The younger replied as the two took off toward the town.
They headed strait for the small military headquarters and burst through the front doors. Inside there was only a number of about four men sitting at their desks, surprised by the sudden intrusion. “Hey, who are you two, and why did you scare us like that!?” The closest man said.
Edward quickly pulled out his pocket watch and held it high, the metal glinting in the light. “I’m a State Alchemist! Where are all your men?”
“…uh…this is all our men…” The same man as before spoke.
“What!? But this is the northern boarder! Why aren’t there more soldiers here!?”
“…well…with Mt. Briggs being so big an all, there wasn’t any need for many soldiers.”
The brothers looked to one another, dismay painted on their faces. “Al, you go the the police station and inform any one there of what’s happening.”
“Right!” And Alphonse was off.
“As for you guys.” Edward said turning back to the four soldiers before him. “Where’s your weapons cache?”
“Weapons? What for? What’s going on!?” Another soldier exclaimed.
“Just do as I say! Go get as many weapons as you can, and meet up with the police in the north part of town near the tree line.” For a moment the four men stood their ground, unsure of how to react. “GET MOVING!”
Some time later Edward returned to the tree line to meet his brother and a count of about ten police men. “This is all there was?”
“Yes, also I’ve had them alert the towns people to evacuate.” Kid replied mechanically.
“Good job Al.” Then turning to the fourteen men standing before him he said, “Listen up! I’m the Fullmetal Alchemist, and I was sent here to investigate the woods surrounding this town to see if allegations that a small rebel force was in the area were true. In fact they are, and these rebels from Drachma are headed here as we speak.”
The small group of men began to whisper amongst themselves until one spoke. “How many are there?”
“Around fifty.” Kid announced.
“FIFTY!” The small crowd bellowed. “We can’t take on fifty rebels!”
“Your right, you can’t.” The state alchemist replied. “Not this anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“You men have lived in this town for years right? You know this place like the back of your hand right?”
“…well…yeah, but…”
“This is YOUR town, are you going to let these Drachmians take it from you?” The crowd didn’t reply. “Not only are they going to try and take it from you, but they are going to try and take it from your families as well!” More silence, “This is your home! Use that to your advantage and teach these rebels to never mess with Grimrock again! What do you say!?” Each of the men in the crowd looked at each other, unsure of what to do. “WHAT DO YOU SAY!?”
“Yeah! Let’s show these damn Drachmians what Grimrock is made of!” A soldier yelled. Soon all the men were cheering. “Okay, so what do we do Sir?”
“Alright,” Edward looked to his brother and gave him a smile, “This is the plan.”
*
All that could be heard was the wind cutting through the trees, and the soft crackling under the dark skinned man’s feet. He was searching, searching for his prey. He was all alone as he slowly stalked through the trees. All alone as he was watched from a secret place.
“Come on, where are you?” The man whispered to himself. “Come out so I can KILL you Kid!”
Suddenly there was a burst of leaves and blur of gold, followed closely by “Who you callin’ so short they get called kid at the age of twenty-one!!!” The alchemist exploded.
“What the…” The Ishbalan questioned as the short blonde fumed. “You’re the State Alchemist Isaac caught!”
“Yeah, the one and only Fullmetal Alchemist! And you must be Jovan!”
“Where is Kid!? Isaac said Kid would come!”
“Oh well, I guess that’s too bad, cause you got me instead!” With a clap and a loud ‘bashoom’ the Fullmetal alchemist was armed with his trademark sword.
“UGH! You damn alchemist! Your evil magic will not save you today! You will pay for what you did to my country…to my FAMILY!” At that moment the man pulled out a beautiful sword, engraved with Ishbalan writings and symbols. “This sword that was handed down my blood line for gernerations will be the cause of your demise!”
“Bring it!”
With a flurry of leaves and dirt flying into the air, both men lunged foreward charging full speed toward each other. Meeting with a loud clash of metal the two bounced off each other’s blade and quickly recovered. Jovan attacked fiercely, only to be countered by the skilled alchemist.
“Give it up Jovan! You can’t win!”
“You will PAY!” The Ishbalan attacked even more determinedly, harshly lunging his blade toward Edward.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you and your family” The alchemist exclaimed as the skillfully defended himself, “But killing innocent people isn’t going to solve anything!”
After being knocked back by a swift kick to the chest, Jovan knelt on the ground to recover his breath. “The state shed the blood of the innocent first, ‘huf, huf’ I’m only returning the favor!”
“You don’t need to do this! The state has completely reversed the Ishbalan policy! Things are getting better now!”
“That means nothing! Can the State reverse the death of my brother and sister! Can they reverse the deaths of all my friends and mentors!”
“…” The alchemist was silent.
“I thought so. Now, let us end this Fullmetal.” The man stood once more, starring fiercely into the eyes of his enemy.
With a small nod, Ed acknowledged Jovan’s request.
“DIEEEEE!” The Ishbalan man yelled as he charged once more.
Edward leapt out of danger just as Jovan’s sword slashed the space he had just occupied. As soon as he landed he found himself deflecting a flurry of attacks.
The disrupted leaves flew in the air, falling as they had once fallen from the trees.
As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Edward struck the winning blow, and Jovan fell with the leaves.
Lying on the ground, the defeated Ishbalan looked up at his enemy. “I hate you! I hate you for what you did!”
“I wasn’t enlisted when the State had its campaign against Ishbal!” The alchemist defended.
“It doesn’t matter! You fight for the state! You are a dog of the military! And to me you will always be a cursed State Alchemist!” The man exclaimed in complete hatred, as he clenched his wound.
Edward was silent for a while, his eyes somber. “…you may be right about a few things…yes I am a State Alchemist and therefore a dog of the military…and I may even be cursed…even damned…but I do NOT fight for the State!”
The man then clapped and returned his arm to it’s former state, then turned and began to walk away.
“Hey! Where are you going!? Your just going to let my slowly die here! Finish me damn it!”
“Your not going to die, your wound isn’t lethal.”
The wounded Ishbalan sat up and starred at the back of his former opponent…and laughed.
“…huh? What’s so funny?” Edward questioned offended.
“Just like you damn State Alchemists. Always high on power. You don’t get it do you Fullmetal?”
“What are you talking about?” The blonde was suspicious.
“This is a fight to the death, one of us is going to die today.” At that Jovan pulled out a pistol from his holster and aimed it directly toward Edward.
“Give it up! Your defeated Jovan!” Ed pleaded, he knew that if he really wanted too, he could close the distance between the two and finish Jovan off before he shot. “I don’t want to have to kill you!”
“Yes, but as you said, I am defeated. Yet I still live. One of us must die, this was a fight to the death!”
“JOVAN!” Edward shrieked in horror as the man placed the gun to his own head. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time young alchemist. You see I miss my family. And now I can die honorably, so that I can once again see their faces.” Jovan’s voice was strangely calm, almost peaceful.
“Look, you don’t have to do this! There are…”
“Damn you State Alchemist!”
*
Alphonse jumped when he heard a gunshot in the distance. He silently wished for the safe return of Edward as he finished up the preparations.
“Uh…Alphonse is it?” One of the soldiers asked. He got no reply, “Excuse me.”
“Huh?” Kid turned his head away from the window he was peering through. “Oh right, Alphonse…yes that’s my name.”
The soldier gave him a strange look before he continued, “Right…um anyway, where did Fullmetal go? Why did he leave?”
“…well…the leader of these rebels knows me very well. He knows that I would try to stop him in the woods rather than wait for him here so that I wouldn’t risk the lives of the towns people. So he probably sent out his second in command to try and track me down.”
“So then why did Fullmetal go?”
“Because if I went and faught his second in command, there would be no one here who knows Isaac’s strategies.”
“Isaac…? Is that the leader?”
“Yes…”
“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know each other so well?”
“…I guess you could say we were once…friends.”
“Friends?” Kid didn’t reply, “…I’m gonna go check up on the other men.”
“Ok.”
And the soldier was gone, leaving the young alchemist alone to his thoughts. In the peaceful silence the man thought of how unexpected this all was. He could remember a time where practicing his alchemy under the watchful eye of Isaac was fun at times. He could remember the talks they had, of honor and loyalty.
Isaac was always there for him, always defending him when the other men in the camp treated him unfairly for being the “new guy”. Kid never really knew why Isaac defended him so passionately. That strange compassion, that emotion made Kid feel like he wasn’t alone sometimes, almost like he had someone…almost like he had a father…
Kids nostalgic thoughts would not last for long though, “Alphonse! We’ve spotted them!” The soldier from before said as he rushed into the room.
“Ok, do exactly as Edward said, do not make your presence known until my mark.”
“Yes sir!” The soldier then ran out of the room and down the stairs.
“It’s time.” Kid announced as he slid open the window and leapt down to the street floor.
*
“Alright men! This is it! Let’s make Drachma proud!” Isaac yelled to the huddled men as they stood on the outskirts of the town. “Remember to leave some alive so that they can tell others in the State who did this! Other than those lucky few…leave none alive.”
The men once again marched toward the town on Grimrock, and emerged from the tree line. They quickly ran into the streets, but stopped immediately.
“…were is everybody?” One of the men asked.
Isaac knew immediately what happened to the people, “Damn you Kid.” He whispered to himself.
“Sir?” The men were looking to him now, wondering what was their next move.
“The town has been evacuated. But that doesn’t mean we can’t show the State we mean business. We will burn this city to the ground!”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The men twirled around to face the young man that stood behind them. “It’s not safe to play with fire, you may get burned.”
Isaac slowly turned to meet his enemy’s gaze, “KID!”
“That isn’t my name! My name is Alphonse Elric!” Suddenly all the men raised their guns, “…”
“NO! The rest of you men do as I said, destroy this town. Leave this one to me.” His tone was cold, so cold it sent a shiver down Kid’s spine.
The men quickly dispatched running in every direction, but not long after they separated did gun shots fill the air. “Their in the buildings!” One of the rebels yelled.
“How many?” Another questioned.
“I…I don’t know…their everywhere!”
Rebels fell in every direction, as random windows lit up with the shots of State soldiers and police.
“Quick, into the buildings! Find them and Kill them all!”
Rebels scattered into any random building looking for cover or the enemy, until after a while the streets were once again eerily clear. Only two men stood on the streets of Grimrock now, two once friends, now enemies.
“I treated you like a son.” The huge man said in his husky voice.
“You lied to me…about everything…just so you could USE ME!”
“Your right…I did use you…and I was going to let you die here…but then I realized something…”
“Oh…and what is that?”
“You have great power Kid, unlike any alchemist I’ve ever seen. You also know loyalty and honor, two things most men in this world lack. If I had let you die that way I could never live with my self from the shame. You deserve better, which is why I was going to let you live after Grimrock, and sacrifice Jovan instead…”
“…what?” Kid was surprised.
“With you as my second in command, we could have really devastated the State! With my soldiers and your incredible alchemy, the State would have trembled on it’s knees!” There was a strange look in Isaac’s eyes, almost as if he could see something far off in the distance. “But then, that damn State Alchemist interfered and ruined everything.” Kid was totally silent, unsure of how to react to all this new information. Suddenly a glint of silver shown through the flap of Isaac’s long trench coat. “Goodbye…Kid…”
Time slowed down as Kid realized this was going to be his death. There was no way he could get out of this one, and immediately he thought of Edward and how much he would miss him. There were so many memories he would never remember, so many times spent with Edward he would never know. All he could see was Edwards face, his smile…his eyes…
“MOVE!!!” And then Kid was violently shoved, landing on his side. Looking up he saw a bright gold intensified by the sun, it looked like an angel.
BANG
Alphonse age: 17
Twigs snapped and crinkled as the men set up camp. Soldiers in blue uniforms were pitching tents and starting fires. The day had been long for the men and they were ready to sleep.
“Sir?”
“Yes First lieutenant Burnam?” The Soul Alchemist said, stopping his tent pitching.
“Are we going to move in on the rebels tomorrow?”
Alphonse quickly searched his surroundings making sure there was no one in hearing distance. “Don’t say anything, but yes we are.” Burnam’s face instantly dropped, Al could see the worry in his eyes. “…don’t worry David, you’ll be fine…I promise.”
“Well…It’s not me I’m worried about.”
“Huh?”
“You see, I’ve got a girl back home. She and I love each other very much. Before I enlisted I promised her I wouldn’t be in any battles since the State is reversing all of it’s war policies. I just…if I died tomorrow…it would cause her a great deal of pain…”
“You’re worried about what will happen to her if she loses you.”
“…yeah…”
Alphonse liked Burnam, even though David was a year older than him, David always seemed to treat him like an older brother. “Don’t worry Dave, I’ll make her love will return to her.”
The First Lieutenant smiled, “Thanks sir.”
“For tonight, just call me Al.”
“…Okay…Al…”
The sun was beginning to set then and the sky lit up with beautiful colors. The two watched the clouds roll by, admiring the tranquility.
“So…have you ever loved someone Al?”
The alchemist didn’t reply right away, not until he took his eyes off the sunset and focused them on the ground. “…yes…I did…”
“…what happened…If you don’t mind my asking?” Burnam Added quickly.
“No, its okay.” Al took a deep breath before continuing. “I loved someone, very much so, but there were complications…”
“What complications?”
“Well our relationship…let’s just say there were certain aspects of our relationship that put us at risk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was afraid that if people found out about us, then both my lover and I would lose many things we hold dear. I didn’t want that to happen, so in the end…I left that person.”
“So…you were afraid of what other people would think?”
“Well…more or less…”
Burnam didn’t reply right away, but eventually continued. “Forgive me for being so blunt sir…but that was stupid.”
“What!?”
“If you truly love some one, from the bottom of your heart, then who cares what the rest of the world thinks.”
“…but…it’s not that simple…”
“Well, shouldn’t it be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Love, is it really that complicated. If you love someone, there isn’t some test you’ve got to take to verify that you do. You just do. So who cares what the consequences may be, nothing is more important than love.”
The alchemist starred at David long and hard before bowing his head down and whispering, “Idiot Alphonse!”
“What was that Al?”
“Thank you David.”
“For what?”
“For knowing what love is.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind. You should get more rest, tomorrows gonna be a big day.”
*
BOOM, the sound of a small explosion startled Alphonse out of his sleep. He quickly threw on his jacket, not bothering to button it up, and rushed out side.
“What the!?” It was chaos before Al’s eyes, his men were being slaughtered by unseen gunshots from the trees. Immediately he thought of Burnam. “I’ve got to find him!”
Running through the camp and hiding behind anything he could Al searched the area. All he could see were his frantic soldiers scattering through the woods. It was like a war zone, grenades exploded, people screamed in agony, and bullets tore through everything, including Alphonse’s side.
“Agh!!!” He yelled in pain as he clenched his side. “I have to find David!”
He quickly rose to his feet and began to dash in the direction he had seen the First Lieutenant leave the night before. Then there they were, the Drachmian rebels Palmer had informed him off, they were everywhere.
With a clap and a ‘bashoom’ two of the rebels were encased in rock. “Ugh!!!” Another bullet tore through his shoulder. “BURNAM!!” he took off once more.
Finally reaching the tent he rushed in…and there Burnam was…covered in his own blood. “S-sir?”
“David!” Al rushed to his side as Burnam lay on the ground clenching his stomach. “David, hang on! Please just hang on!”
“A-al…t-the rebels-s…their h-here…”
“I know, I know, just please hang on!”
Burnam began to jerk violently, “A-AL…S-SIR…”
“Stay with me!” Al pleaded as the tears fell. “Don’t go, I promised…you can’t go!”
“A-Alana…I can s-see her A-al…Al-alana.” At that final word…he was gone.”
“David? DAVID!? NO! NO I PROMISED YOU! I PROMISED!” A loud explosion interrupted Alphonse’s mourning. And he knew what needed to be done.
Quickly rushing out of the tent the clapped his hands and encased the nearest rebel in stone. But he soon realized that wouldn’t be enough, there were too many. Then he heard it.
“Ha,ha,ha,ha!” The voice was booming and husky, it came from the center of their camp, so the alchemist followed it. “Aha,ha,ha,ha!”
Finally reaching his destination, he saw the horrible voice’s source, he was stunned. There before him stood a huge man, but most noticeable were his four metal limbs, his two auto-mail legs were thick and looked extraordinarily powerful. His two arms were just as amazing except one had a large barrel where the hand should have been, and the other had a long sword protruding from the wrist.
The man’s gun fired mercilessly upon the soldiers, his long sword slashed any who came too close. An anger boiled in Alphonse’s blood, unlike any he had ever felt before.
“DAMN YOU!” He yelled as he clapped his hands together and smacked the ground. A large stone sculpture of a woman with braided hair rose from the ground, and with another clap the stone warrior came to life.
The huge man quickly spotted the statue coming toward him and opened fire, but before the rock could be completely obliterated, a swift kick toppled the man over. Seeing his chance, the alchemist rushed toward the man ready to strike.
“…” To Al’s great surprise the man quickly rose, his auto-mail legs propelled him faster than Al thought possible. “Ugh!” He was quickly smacked by the large gun-barrel arm, and flung many feet.
“Ha,ha,ha! You must be that State Alchemist Plamer was talking about. I’m going to enjoy killing you!”
Thinking quickly Alphonse transmuted a wall between he and his attacker. “What the!? How did you do that without a circle!?” The man bellowed as he quickly smashed the wall down. “Ack!”
Alphonse quickly recovered and attacked, knocking the behemoth back. “I don’t need a circle!”
“That’s impossible! Only one State Alchemist has ever achieved that feat, and your not him!”
“SHUT UP! YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” Alphonse thrust himself toward his foe and attacked with all his might, but the man’s legs proved too fast for him.
“So you use your arms as a circle eh?” He said as he dodged the attacks. “Usually I disrupt alchemist’s arrays so that they can’t perform, but you don’t use one. No matter, I’ll just have to improvise!”
And before Al could see it coming, the man’s gun barrel landed on his left shoulder, “Ah!” and fired. “AAAGH!”
The force of the blast threw Alphonse back, flinging his jacket clean off. With lighting speed the man closed the distance between the two and kicked the alchemist in the side, flinging him even farther.
“Ha, ha! Pathetic State Alchemist!” Alphonse slowly rose again and as soon as he was on his feet he painfully rose his left hand to meet the other. “Oh no you don’t!”
With incredible speed the man rushed foreword and swung his mighty sword. “AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” The pain was excruciating. With a sickening thud, the young man’s left arm hit the ground, followed closely by its owner.
“Damn you’re a tough one! I thought for sure destroying your shoulder would do the trick, but oh no! I had to take the whole damn arm off!” The enemy said as he slowly approached his prey.
Alphonse lay on his back, broken and bleeding, completely helpless. “This is a great day for Drachma! Look around you dog of the military. Your men fall under the guns of Drachma’s proud! And now I will add another alchemist to my death toll.” The huge beast stood over his opponent and aimed his barrel directly in between his eyes. “Any last words?”
Alphonse starred down the barrel, and realized this was it. Edward wouldn’t be coming to save him this time. He would never even see Edward again, and all that filled his heart was... “Regret!”
Just then a stray bullet collided with the huge metal arm knocking it off aim.
BANG
“Damn it!” He quickly looked around to see if the area was safe, then returned his gaze upon the alchemist. He was silent as the night, his eyes shut lightly. “Ah well, at least he makes a pretty corpse…HA!”
Leaving the alchemist where he lay, the huge man and his mechanical arms and legs resumed their bloody reign of chaos. Soldier after soldier fell under his guns, until finally all who wore blue uniforms were dead. All except one.
“Isaac! HEY, ISAAC!” A dark skinned man yelled to his superior.
“What is it Jovan?” Said the commander as he approached his second in command’s position.
“Look, this ones still alive.”
“What!? That can’t be. I shot him in the head!”
Inspecting the body more closely, Jovan then replied. “He was hit in the head, but it looks like you just missed his brain.”
“Even so, with his injuries and blood loss he should be dead! There’s something special about this alchemist.”
Jovan’s eyes flew open, “This young man is a State Alchemist?” Isaac nodded, and the Ishbalan immediately pulled out his pistol. “Then let me finish him off!”
“NO!”
By this time all the men in the area had stopped to watch the drama, and to see the outcome of the alchemist’s fate.
“What do you mean, no!? He’s a State Alchemist! He deserves to die!”
Isaac didn’t answer immediately; instead he starred at the mess of a man before of him thinking. “…this kids been shot more times than anyone else here, beaten badly, lost an arm, and shot in the head yet his heart is still beating. There’s something in this alchemist, some great will to live that keeps him living, as though he feels he needs to live for something…or maybe even someone…”
“How can you tell all that!? How do you know he’s not just really lucky?”
“Because I’ve been in his position before, beaten and broken, inches from death. If it weren’t for my will to live I wouldn’t be standing before you now, literally.” The huge metal arms rose into the air as Isaac admired their beauty.
“So then what are we going to do with him.”
Isaac looked around, searching the area, he found the arm of his enemy, and an idea formed in his head. “If he wants to live that badly, we’ll let him live. That way we can use him as a ransom against the State. But we can’t let them know we have him until he recovers or else they’ll send the entire military at us…”
Jovan stood patiently waiting for his superior to continue. “…so then what do we do…”
“We need to make it look like he died here, make it look like he was utterly destroyed.” As he said this, the large man walked some distance away and picked up a tattered and bloody military jacket. “We need to leave proof that he was killed here, but this jacket alone won’t do.”
“What are you getting at Isaac?” The superior’s eyes darted to the ground near Jovan’s feet. Looking down, Jovan found his answer.
*
“BROTHER!!!” Alphonse yelled in dismay as he watched his beloved fall to the ground. The pain in his head was excruciating as all the memories of his life flooded in from some unknown source. But none of that mattered; all that did was getting to his love. Rushing to his brother’s side he quickly lifted his head onto his lap. “Brother, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did, for what I said. I didn’t mean any of it. I’m so sorry! Brother, please don’t hate me! Please be okay, please!” Al mumbled frantically.
Edward stared up into his brother’s eyes. “A-Alphonse? Are your memories…?”
“Yes! I remember now. I remember everything. Are you okay!?” The younger brother said as he searched Edward’s body up and down.
“Yeah, I think I’m fine.” Edward cringed, “I don’t think he hit any vital organs at least. But it sure does hurt a lot!”
“This is all very touching but…” Isaac’s booming voice rang through the street, “I believe we have a score to settle.” And at that, his huge over coat was flung into the air revealing the mighty metal limbs. Alphonse starred at the shining arms and legs, it was hard to believe he hadn’t seen them in three years, because to him it felt like just yesterday that he was battling them.
“Holy crap! That exlains why he could move so fast!” Edward said looking from his position in Alphonse’s lap. “I’ve never seen...” Then he remembered, and looking to his beloved brother’s left arm, it all made sense.
“And that’s why Isaac had such a good auto-mail engineer at hand, that’s why my auto-mail is so good.” Alphonse answered, then looked up to his enemy. “Alright Isaac, let’s end this.”
“It would be my pleasure.” The husky voice whispered as the giant metal barrel pointed toward the two alchemists.
“…” Alphonse couldn’t do anything from his position, he slowly rested Edwards head down and stood over him.
“good bye Kid!”
“Alphonse! MOVE!”
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA
The sound was deafening, as the bullets created a dense fog while they hit the ground. All that could bee seen once Isaac opened fire was smoke. “huh…that was easy.” The large man commented. “Looks like the runt didn’t have such a strong will after……….WHAT?”
Once the dust settled and the fog cleared, the glinting metal of the beautifully designed shield which Alphonse had transmuted from his metal arm, shone bright in the afternoon sun. The shield was large and elegant, and in the middle, Isaac could see what looked like a cross with a snake slithering up it. Alphonse stood then with his shield attached and held to the side. “Your not gonna get away with that this time!”
“GYAAAAA!” Isaac roared in anger as he lunged toward his opponent once again after three years.
“Come on!” Alphonse answered with a growl, and the battle was on.
Isaac swung his mighty blade, only to be deflected by the beautiful shield. The smaller fighter recovered and quickly retaliated with a series of kicks and jabs to the body. Stumbling a few feet, Isaac’s lightning fast legs tore through the air as his kick just barely missed Al’s head. The giant swung everything he had at his enemy, but couldn’t seem to connect any of his blows. Alphonse flipped and twirled marvelously, it was as if after three years he hadn’t forgotten any of his moves. Edward watched in awe, the Soul Alchemist was truly back.
“Damn you Kid!” Isaac howled as the alchemist landed a swift kick to the stomach.
“Give up Isaac!” Alphonse yelled as he continued his attack, “You can’t win!”
“I’ll kill you!”
The fight continued as Isaac swung his sword viciously, aiming for deadly strikes. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even nick the alchemist. It was determination that drove Alphonse now, determination that drove his fists and legs. He would defeat Isaac here. He would get revenge, three years worth of it. He would leave this place with his brother, his love.
Isaac’s long barrel arm rushed forward and stopped it’s aim over Al’s face, but before a single bullet could hit him the shield was there. Once the bombardment of shots was over, Al rushed toward his enemy slamming into him with great force.
“HUFF!!!” Isaac mumbled as the wind was literally knocked out of him.
With a great cloud of dust the giant was finally down. Alphonse stood triumphant over his adversary. “Now, give up Isaac. It’s over.”
“huff, huff, no little alchemist, huff, your mistaken.”
Suddenly it was apparent to Alphonse that he was surrounded by Isaac’s men. There wasn’t all of Isaac’s men there, but enough to do the job.
“Damn it!” Edward growled as he stood to his feet, pain racing through his body as he clutched his stomach.
Alphonse slowly walked over and took Edward’s side, “What now brother?”
“Well, we’re gonna have to fight.” The men were beginning to raise their guns now.
“…brother…in case we don’t make it out of this, do you remember when I came to get you out of that tent?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, I never really told you what I wanted too, I was too afraid.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right…what was it.”
“…I love you.”
Edward quickly turned his attention to Alphonse. He stared into those huge grey eyes he loved so much. “…I know you do…”
“Okay men,” Isaac barked as he got to his feet, “fire on my mark!”
The brothers stood tall,
“Ready!”
unafraid of death.
“AIM!”
Because they had eachother.
BOOOOM!
“WHAT THE HELL!!” Isaac yelled in complete surprise. A huge explosion sent many of his men flying through the air and covered the street in smoke and dust. Once the ashes cleared enough to see, Isaac could clearly make out the culprit, “MUSTANG!!!”
“Hello Isaac, long time no see.” The General said coolly, just as a small army of soldiers rushed into battle with the rebels.
Chaos ensued as soldier fought with the rebels on the cramped town streets. Bullets flew everywhere as the two brothers watched in awe.
Suddenly Alphonse caught the General’s eye, and he immediately rushed over. He quickly grasped the younger man by the shoulder’s holding him there tightly to get a look at his face. “Alphonse? You really were alive.”
“Hello General, it’s good to see you again.”
The man shook himself from his shock and returned a small smile.
“I TOLD YOU HE WAS ALIVE!”
“Of course he was alive, I knew it all along.” Mustang replied calmly.
“………………WHAAAAAAT!?”
“It was obvious he was alive Fullmetal, you were just too short to realize it.”
“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” Edward fumed furiously, “WHO YOU CALLIN SO SHORT HE COULDN’T TELL HIS OWN BROTHER WAS ALIVE THROUGH STRANGE DREAMS!!!”
“…Brother, that doesn’t even make sense.”
“I hate to break up this reunion of yours but…...I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!!!” Isaac howled in anger.
Mustang snapped his fingers and blew a small burst of flame into Isaacs face, knocking him down. “Go Alphonse, take your brother and get him to safety. I’ll take care of…”
“No!”
“What?”
“I’m sorry General, but this is my fight.”
Mustang starred into Alphonse’s eyes, and knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. “…okay Al, I’ll get Edward out of here. But don’t you dare go and die! I’ll have to listen to Edwards childish rants for years!”
“um hello I’m right here…” Edward interjected.
“Thanks General, he’s hurt so you’ll probably have to carry him, it won’t be that hard.”
“hey what’s that supposed to mean!”
“Alright Alphonse, I’ll make sure Fullmetal is safe.”
“Can I have any say in this? It is ME we’re talking about!”
Alphonse turned to his beloved then and looked deep into his eyes, this could be the last time he did so. Grasping him in a tight embrace he whispered into his ear. “Brother, you have to go. This is my fight now…I won’t die this time.”
Edward hugged back as hard as he could, afraid to lose his beloved once more to Isaac. “…Okay Al…kick his ass!”
“Will do.” And with that Edward quickly released his love and retreated with Mustang away from danger.
The battle around them raged on as Isaac and his opponent starred into each other’s heart. Now was the real battle, the battle of two who once called each other friends. One would die today.
“Are you ready Kid?”
“Are you?”
“You know me Kid, I’m always ready to kill.”
“But are you ready to die?”
“Come now kid,” Isaac said mockingly, “you couldn’t hurt a fly! You were always so cautious during training, making sure you didn’t hurt any birds or squirrels. You couldn’t kill me as much as you could those animals.”
“Kid couldn’t, but I’m not Kid. My name is Alphonse Elric, son to Trisha Elric and brother to Edward Elric. I remember that now, I remember who I am, and I remember what you took from me.” The images of Edward’s sad eyes that last time he saw them before coming here flashed in his mind along with the blood stained friend that died in front of his very eyes. “Knowing that, I’m unafraid of the consequences of taking a life, just as you took mine.”
Isaacs face was stern now, “So that’s how it is then…‘Alphonse’”
“This is for David…and my brother!” The Soul alchemist dashed foreward, closing this distance between his target and himself.
“COME THEN, COME AND KILL ME!!!” Isaac roared.
With a tremendous clash Isaac’s sword smashed into Alphonse’s shield. The smaller man quickly recovered from the attack and wasted no time in throwing a flurry of punches at his enemy. Isaac’s body recoiled from the barrage of attacks as he tried to escape Alphonse’s fury. The huge gun arm swung through the air headed straight for the alchemist’s head, missing only by inches. Al retaliated with a series of combos further injuring his opponent and with a swift kick to the abdomen Isaac skid backwards against the cement street.
“I don’t think you were properly acquainted with my teacher the first time you met her,” Alphonse said matter-of-factly. “I think it’s time you two got to know each other a bit better.” And with flashes of alchemy, stone statues of the braid haired woman were on the attack, four on each side of Isaac each coming from a different direction.
“WHY YOU LITTLE!!!” Isaac yelled as the statues unleashed hell on him.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!!!
Statue after statue fell until all lay on the ground in pieces and the air was filled with the dust from their shattered concrete bodies.
“’huff,huff’ Where are you dammit!!!” Isaac yelled into the dense fog.
“HERE!” The voice came from above as Alphonse fell from the heavens, smashing his shield into Isaac’s face.
“OOOFFFFF!!!” He muttered as the giant man fell to the ground.
Alphonse stood above him, the evening sun creating a silhouette in Isaac’s eyes. “So what now…you going to shoot me in the head?”
“…no, I’m not an animal like you. Get up!” The younger stepped back and waited.
“You know Kid,” The giant man grunted as he stood to his feet. “my training seems to have made you a damn good fighter. Last time I fought you, it wasn’t this hard.”
“It isn’t your training that’s making me fight this hard.”
“…oh? Well, there’s only one thing it could be then. Were you in love before you came here?”
“…huh?” Alphonse said in confusion, how could Isaac know that.
“You were in love weren’t you, and you lost the one you cared about when I shot you.” Isaac’s husky voice was calm as he said this.
“…”
“I was once in love as well you see. But my love was taken from me…by the state…” There was a strange look in Isaac’s eyes, something Al had never seen there before. “…she was Jovan’s sister you see…she was killed in the war in Ishbal…that day, three years ago…it was my revenge for my lost love. I had never fought so hard until that day, and ever since I have never matched my skill on that day. Something happens to people when they lose someone they love…it goes beyond rational thinking. I knew you were in love from the first time I fought you, the look in your eyes told me so. I also knew this day would come, and you would take your revenge. I can’t lie though; I secretly prayed that it wouldn’t.”
“I see.” Alphonse replied, unsure of how to react to all this information.
“You and I are very much alike Kid, oh sorry ‘Alphonse’. Although you may not see it now, someday you will. The only real difference between us is that I don’t think you’ve truly lost the one you care for, have you?” Alphonse slowly shook his head in agreement. “…good…I guess the only thing to do now is take you vengeance on me isn’t it.” The young man nodded in agreement. “As soon as this is over, leave this place…leave it and never come back. Go straight to the one you love and stay there, don’t you dare go anywhere because one day they may not be waiting for you anymore, and it will only be then that you realize how much they mean to you.”
“…okay…I will…” Al answered truthfully.
With one last look into each others eyes, the two opponents took their positions. “Goodbye…Kid…”
“…goodbye Isaac…”
Each second took hours as the two rushed to each other in battle for the last time. Alphonse’s metal arm and flesh hand fought furiously as Isaac’s expertly crafted limbs flew through the air. The fight was incredible yet unnoticed amongst the turmoil in the streets between the rebels and the soldiers. No one would ever know of the ferocity of the duel. No one would ever see the care each took to make sure their blows were on point. No one would ever feel the immense emotion that flooded the air around them.
After what seemed like an eternity Isaac fell to the ground, defeated. His body was bloody, broken and his breath came short. The amount of damage done to him from the metal shield Alphonse wielded was unfathomable.
Alphonse slowly wobbled over and fell to his knees besides his defeated foe. His own body had it’s own damage but nothing as severe as Isaac’s.
“Con-congratulations Kid. Y-you can f-finally go home.”
“Yes, I finally can.” The alchemists replied softly.
“…y-you do as I s-said y-you hear? Go back t-to the one you c-care for n-now…and d-don’t you ever l-leave them”
“…I will…”
Isaac’s eyes starred to the sky, and he took his final breath.
*
Edward lay in the medical tent, away from all the fighting on the other side of town. He noticed the gunfire had stopped some time ago and that the soldiers were beginning to return now. Peering through the open flap in his tent he searched for his brother amongst the men. Suddenly there was a glint, of something metal. It wasn’t a gun or a badge, it was auto mail, and he knew exactly who’s it was. Ignoring the pain in his side, Ed leapt out of the cot, paying no attention to the nurse’s complaints, and ran straight toward the glinting metal.
“Alpho…!?” Stopping dead in his tracks he could see now that it was much bigger auto mail, and I wasn’t attached to anything. A soldier was holding it up, showing other soldiers.
“…I took it off some rebel lying in the street, the guy was huge!”
Edward’s hope slowly sank, and a fear crept up in his heart. But then he heard something, something that nearly brought tears to his eyes. “Brother?”
Ed twirled around, praying his mind was playing tricks on him like it did when he slept. There before him was the most beautiful sight he had seen in years. “Alphonse!”
Alphonse stood there, his long hair messy and dirty. His cloths ripped and his body bruised. “I’m here brother, can we go home now?”
Neither Ed nor Alphonse could remember much of the rest of that day besides the tight embrace they shared for almost an hour. They didn’t really cared what happened after that, all that mattered was that they were together. Never again would they leave each other alone, never again would they question their relationship. They would live happy lives together, always cherishing what they had.
Alphonse never forgot what Burnam and Isaac had told him. He remembered them every day he spent with Edward.
The End
***
Thank you so much for reading!!! I really enjoyed writing this fic and since it's probably my last I hope you enjoyed it as well. If anyone wants me to write an epilogue I will but otherwise I wasn't planning on it. Once again thank you so much for reading.
And here are all the last chapters as well!
The Soul Alchemist 1, The Soul Alchemist 2, The Soul Alchemist 3, The Soul Alchemist 4, The Soul Alchemist 5, The Soul Alchemist 6, The Soul Alchemist 7, The Soul Alchemist 8
Title: The Soul Alchemist: Kid's Final Battle
Author: Frankie_the_cat
Rating: R (for swearing?)
Warnings: Very long, emotional, very long!
Summary: The battle around them raged on as Isaac and his opponent starred into each other’s heart. Now was the real battle, the battle of two who once called each other friends. One would die today.
The state alchemist returned from the alley nervously searching the area as he walked back to the soldiers waiting for him. “First lieutenant Burnam.”
“Yes, Sir?” The First Lieutanant replied.
“Inform the Colonel that we need to move in on the rebels tonight.” The Soul alchemist informed his subordinate.
“Yes, Sir!” Said Burnam as he took off down the street toward their base of operations.
The Alchemist looked up at Mt. Briggs, an eerie feeling crept over him. Something wasn’t right, he could sense it. “Then again, when isn’t something “not right” he said to himself.
As the man began to slowly wander back towards the small inn they were using as their base, he couldn’t help but think of his brother. He missed him so much, and couldn’t wait to go home. But he was afraid, no one had actually expected the rebels to be here at Grimrock, so finding there was a large group of them at the base of Mt. Briggs wasn’t exactly good news.
As the brunette came to the front door of the small inn he was met by First Lieutenant Burnam. “Major Alphonse sir?” The man’s voice was nervous.
“Yes David?”
“Are we really going to move in on the rebels tonight?”
“Yes, we are.” The First Lieutenant’s facial expression dropped then. “What’s wrong?”
“Well…how do you know we can trust this Palmer guy?”
“I don’t.”
Chapter 9: Kid’s Final Battle
Edward thought while Kid watched. Ed wanted to leave, take his brother and get away from this place. Yet another part of him knew that he had to stay…stay and fight.
“So…what are we going to do?” Kid asked in the silence of the tent.
“Well, we’re going to do what we have to do. Isaac needs to be stopped.” The older brother replied.
“Alright, I have an idea. Isaac thinks I’m getting ready for the attack in my tent, but he’ll no doubt be checking up on me soon, and when he finds I’m not there he’ll come here first. So before we do anything we need to get away as soon as possible.” And at Kid’s very last word the sound of snapping twigs in the distance reached their ears. “Come on let’s go!”
The two quickly dashed through the back of the tent. Unfortunately there was nothing but tree’s before them. “We can’t get away in time, they’ll catch us if we try to run.” Edward announced as the noise came closer. “We need to hide.”
“Right!” The younger said as he clapped his hands and placed them upon the ground.
Seconds later Isaac burst into the tent followed closely by Jovan. “I told you, you shouldn’t have trusted that rat! He’s made off with our only hostage!”
“Calm down Jovan.” The huge man replied calmly. “It hasn’t been long since the boy departed from our sight, he couldn’t have gotten too far.”
The rear flap of the tent flew open as Isaac and Jovan stepped out. Searching the area they could see nothing but tree’s and piles of leaves. “Dammit! I told you they’d be gone! Now what are we going to do about Grimrock!”
“Grimrock? We’re going to destroy Grimrock remember.” The deep voice sounded eerie as it left the mans lips.
“How? We never had a back up plan!”
“The same way we killed the squad of soldiers those three years ago.”
“A raid!? You want to raid Grimrock!? We don’t have as many men as we did back then! It would be suicide!”
A great whoosh of air scattered the nearby leaves as Isaac turned to face Jovan. “Do not fear, you will get your revenge on the state today, we are powerful enough without the alchemist.”
With an angry growl the shorter man turned and marched away, leaving his superior where he stood. Just as Isaac made to leave he stole one last glance towards the woods, when something caught his eye. Only a few feet away was a rather tall tree stump that seemed out of place where it stood. Then a smile came to Isaac’s face.
“You hear that Kid! We don’t need you, and Grimrock will be destroyed no matter what! So go ahead…try and stop me.” And with another great whoosh the man was gone.
The woods were silent for a while after that, but after sometime the muffled cries of two young men rang through the trees. Then, with a burst of energy, the strange looking tree stump exploded, revealing its prisoners. The two men fell to the floor panting heavily.
“Jeez Al! You tryin to KILL US!” The older exclaimed between breaths.
“I’m sorry! I was in a hurry-huf-I forgot to make air holes-huf,huf”
After regaining their breath the two leapt to their feet. “How did Isaac know we were here!?” Edward exclaimed, “And why didn’t he kill us!?”
Kid starred at the ground, his fingers fidgeting slightly “Well, Isaac and I would practice my alchemy by transmuting tree stumps into different shapes, so he knows how my alchemy looks.”
“Well that makes sense, but why didn’t he slaughter us when he had the chance?” Edward asked in confusion.
Kid starred at the ground some more, “I…I think he feels betrayed.”
“…what?”
“Well, Isaac and I…well we sort of became friends…”
“…are you serious!?”
“…well…It’s not my fault! How was I supposed to know he was the bad guy! Maybe you’ve forgotten but I have amnesia!”
“Okay, okay! Sorry! But that still doesn’t answer the question. Why didn’t he kill us?”
“Well…Isaac is a very noble man, killing us like that would have been dishonorable to our friendship. I think he wants me to challenge him in a more honorable way.” Kid replied matter of factly.
Edward starred at his brother in confusion. “I don’t get it, but if Isaac wants a fight…he’ll get one. Come on Al, we’ve got work to do!” And at that the brothers took off through the wilderness.
*
“There you are.” Jovan said as his superior approached the main tent. Many rebels were beginning to gather their, waiting for news of what they would do now. “So now what Isaac. Is there some special plan for this raid, or are we just going to go in guns-a-blazing?”
Isaac took a long hard look at his men before he spoke. “Men of Drachma! Too long has the State been in power! Too long has Drachma cowered in the shadow of Mt. Briggs. Today, we will show the state that Drachma is still a threat to their people. We will show them that Drachms is their GREATEST THREAT! We will attack Grimrock today, without the help of the alchemist. And we will win!”
There was a low mumbling amongst the men, “And how will we do that,” A random man in the crowd yelled, “we only have fifty five men! It would be suicide if we don’t use the alchemist!”
“We don’t NEED the alchemist! He has abandoned us out of fear!”
“Then he was the smart one!” Another man yelled.
“Are you saying your afraid!?” Isaac yelled, “Are Drachma’s finest saying they are scared?” The crowd was silent then, “Listen to me! It is true; we are outnumbered, but not outgunned! We are the soldiers of Drachma, the true soldiers of Drachma! Our country does nothing as the State moves closer and closer to our home, threatening to take our families! We all know what they can do, Jovan is living proof of their destruction.”
“Is it really true sir?” A rebel stepped forward to ask Jovan. “Did the state really destroy your homeland? We’ve all heard the stories in Drachma, the stories of Ishbal being annihilated by the State Alchemists. But we never saw any proof.”
The dark skinned man stood silent, his face stoic. He had never spoken of where he was from, all the men knew about him was that he was a friend of Isaac from long ago. “…yes…the stories are TRUE! My entire family was murdered by the State! They have power no living being should ever possess! I watched…as my family…MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS…were turned into human bombs! And used to kill the rest of my family and friends! I am here, with you Drachmians, because I want REVENGE! Revenge against the State for what they did! And I tell you now, if you do nothing the same fate that took my country from me, awaits Drachma!”
For a long time the camp was silent as they all processed the new data. Finally Isaac spoke once more, “What say you men!? Shall we do nothing? Shall we wait and let Drachma be destroyed the way Ishbal was? Or shall we unleash Drachma’s fury, and open the gates of HELL!!!” The camp roared with thunderous cheers and applause. “FOREWARD, ON TO GRIMROCK!”
Without hesitation, the entire camp began their march, toward the unsuspecting town of Grimrock.
*
Bushes stirred as the two brothers leapt out of the woods and onto the boarders of the town. “Come on Al, we have to warn them!”
“Right!” The younger replied as the two took off toward the town.
They headed strait for the small military headquarters and burst through the front doors. Inside there was only a number of about four men sitting at their desks, surprised by the sudden intrusion. “Hey, who are you two, and why did you scare us like that!?” The closest man said.
Edward quickly pulled out his pocket watch and held it high, the metal glinting in the light. “I’m a State Alchemist! Where are all your men?”
“…uh…this is all our men…” The same man as before spoke.
“What!? But this is the northern boarder! Why aren’t there more soldiers here!?”
“…well…with Mt. Briggs being so big an all, there wasn’t any need for many soldiers.”
The brothers looked to one another, dismay painted on their faces. “Al, you go the the police station and inform any one there of what’s happening.”
“Right!” And Alphonse was off.
“As for you guys.” Edward said turning back to the four soldiers before him. “Where’s your weapons cache?”
“Weapons? What for? What’s going on!?” Another soldier exclaimed.
“Just do as I say! Go get as many weapons as you can, and meet up with the police in the north part of town near the tree line.” For a moment the four men stood their ground, unsure of how to react. “GET MOVING!”
Some time later Edward returned to the tree line to meet his brother and a count of about ten police men. “This is all there was?”
“Yes, also I’ve had them alert the towns people to evacuate.” Kid replied mechanically.
“Good job Al.” Then turning to the fourteen men standing before him he said, “Listen up! I’m the Fullmetal Alchemist, and I was sent here to investigate the woods surrounding this town to see if allegations that a small rebel force was in the area were true. In fact they are, and these rebels from Drachma are headed here as we speak.”
The small group of men began to whisper amongst themselves until one spoke. “How many are there?”
“Around fifty.” Kid announced.
“FIFTY!” The small crowd bellowed. “We can’t take on fifty rebels!”
“Your right, you can’t.” The state alchemist replied. “Not this anyway.”
“What do you mean?”
“You men have lived in this town for years right? You know this place like the back of your hand right?”
“…well…yeah, but…”
“This is YOUR town, are you going to let these Drachmians take it from you?” The crowd didn’t reply. “Not only are they going to try and take it from you, but they are going to try and take it from your families as well!” More silence, “This is your home! Use that to your advantage and teach these rebels to never mess with Grimrock again! What do you say!?” Each of the men in the crowd looked at each other, unsure of what to do. “WHAT DO YOU SAY!?”
“Yeah! Let’s show these damn Drachmians what Grimrock is made of!” A soldier yelled. Soon all the men were cheering. “Okay, so what do we do Sir?”
“Alright,” Edward looked to his brother and gave him a smile, “This is the plan.”
*
All that could be heard was the wind cutting through the trees, and the soft crackling under the dark skinned man’s feet. He was searching, searching for his prey. He was all alone as he slowly stalked through the trees. All alone as he was watched from a secret place.
“Come on, where are you?” The man whispered to himself. “Come out so I can KILL you Kid!”
Suddenly there was a burst of leaves and blur of gold, followed closely by “Who you callin’ so short they get called kid at the age of twenty-one!!!” The alchemist exploded.
“What the…” The Ishbalan questioned as the short blonde fumed. “You’re the State Alchemist Isaac caught!”
“Yeah, the one and only Fullmetal Alchemist! And you must be Jovan!”
“Where is Kid!? Isaac said Kid would come!”
“Oh well, I guess that’s too bad, cause you got me instead!” With a clap and a loud ‘bashoom’ the Fullmetal alchemist was armed with his trademark sword.
“UGH! You damn alchemist! Your evil magic will not save you today! You will pay for what you did to my country…to my FAMILY!” At that moment the man pulled out a beautiful sword, engraved with Ishbalan writings and symbols. “This sword that was handed down my blood line for gernerations will be the cause of your demise!”
“Bring it!”
With a flurry of leaves and dirt flying into the air, both men lunged foreward charging full speed toward each other. Meeting with a loud clash of metal the two bounced off each other’s blade and quickly recovered. Jovan attacked fiercely, only to be countered by the skilled alchemist.
“Give it up Jovan! You can’t win!”
“You will PAY!” The Ishbalan attacked even more determinedly, harshly lunging his blade toward Edward.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you and your family” The alchemist exclaimed as the skillfully defended himself, “But killing innocent people isn’t going to solve anything!”
After being knocked back by a swift kick to the chest, Jovan knelt on the ground to recover his breath. “The state shed the blood of the innocent first, ‘huf, huf’ I’m only returning the favor!”
“You don’t need to do this! The state has completely reversed the Ishbalan policy! Things are getting better now!”
“That means nothing! Can the State reverse the death of my brother and sister! Can they reverse the deaths of all my friends and mentors!”
“…” The alchemist was silent.
“I thought so. Now, let us end this Fullmetal.” The man stood once more, starring fiercely into the eyes of his enemy.
With a small nod, Ed acknowledged Jovan’s request.
“DIEEEEE!” The Ishbalan man yelled as he charged once more.
Edward leapt out of danger just as Jovan’s sword slashed the space he had just occupied. As soon as he landed he found himself deflecting a flurry of attacks.
The disrupted leaves flew in the air, falling as they had once fallen from the trees.
As soon as the opportunity presented itself, Edward struck the winning blow, and Jovan fell with the leaves.
Lying on the ground, the defeated Ishbalan looked up at his enemy. “I hate you! I hate you for what you did!”
“I wasn’t enlisted when the State had its campaign against Ishbal!” The alchemist defended.
“It doesn’t matter! You fight for the state! You are a dog of the military! And to me you will always be a cursed State Alchemist!” The man exclaimed in complete hatred, as he clenched his wound.
Edward was silent for a while, his eyes somber. “…you may be right about a few things…yes I am a State Alchemist and therefore a dog of the military…and I may even be cursed…even damned…but I do NOT fight for the State!”
The man then clapped and returned his arm to it’s former state, then turned and began to walk away.
“Hey! Where are you going!? Your just going to let my slowly die here! Finish me damn it!”
“Your not going to die, your wound isn’t lethal.”
The wounded Ishbalan sat up and starred at the back of his former opponent…and laughed.
“…huh? What’s so funny?” Edward questioned offended.
“Just like you damn State Alchemists. Always high on power. You don’t get it do you Fullmetal?”
“What are you talking about?” The blonde was suspicious.
“This is a fight to the death, one of us is going to die today.” At that Jovan pulled out a pistol from his holster and aimed it directly toward Edward.
“Give it up! Your defeated Jovan!” Ed pleaded, he knew that if he really wanted too, he could close the distance between the two and finish Jovan off before he shot. “I don’t want to have to kill you!”
“Yes, but as you said, I am defeated. Yet I still live. One of us must die, this was a fight to the death!”
“JOVAN!” Edward shrieked in horror as the man placed the gun to his own head. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING!”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time young alchemist. You see I miss my family. And now I can die honorably, so that I can once again see their faces.” Jovan’s voice was strangely calm, almost peaceful.
“Look, you don’t have to do this! There are…”
“Damn you State Alchemist!”
*
Alphonse jumped when he heard a gunshot in the distance. He silently wished for the safe return of Edward as he finished up the preparations.
“Uh…Alphonse is it?” One of the soldiers asked. He got no reply, “Excuse me.”
“Huh?” Kid turned his head away from the window he was peering through. “Oh right, Alphonse…yes that’s my name.”
The soldier gave him a strange look before he continued, “Right…um anyway, where did Fullmetal go? Why did he leave?”
“…well…the leader of these rebels knows me very well. He knows that I would try to stop him in the woods rather than wait for him here so that I wouldn’t risk the lives of the towns people. So he probably sent out his second in command to try and track me down.”
“So then why did Fullmetal go?”
“Because if I went and faught his second in command, there would be no one here who knows Isaac’s strategies.”
“Isaac…? Is that the leader?”
“Yes…”
“If you don’t mind my asking, how do you know each other so well?”
“…I guess you could say we were once…friends.”
“Friends?” Kid didn’t reply, “…I’m gonna go check up on the other men.”
“Ok.”
And the soldier was gone, leaving the young alchemist alone to his thoughts. In the peaceful silence the man thought of how unexpected this all was. He could remember a time where practicing his alchemy under the watchful eye of Isaac was fun at times. He could remember the talks they had, of honor and loyalty.
Isaac was always there for him, always defending him when the other men in the camp treated him unfairly for being the “new guy”. Kid never really knew why Isaac defended him so passionately. That strange compassion, that emotion made Kid feel like he wasn’t alone sometimes, almost like he had someone…almost like he had a father…
Kids nostalgic thoughts would not last for long though, “Alphonse! We’ve spotted them!” The soldier from before said as he rushed into the room.
“Ok, do exactly as Edward said, do not make your presence known until my mark.”
“Yes sir!” The soldier then ran out of the room and down the stairs.
“It’s time.” Kid announced as he slid open the window and leapt down to the street floor.
*
“Alright men! This is it! Let’s make Drachma proud!” Isaac yelled to the huddled men as they stood on the outskirts of the town. “Remember to leave some alive so that they can tell others in the State who did this! Other than those lucky few…leave none alive.”
The men once again marched toward the town on Grimrock, and emerged from the tree line. They quickly ran into the streets, but stopped immediately.
“…were is everybody?” One of the men asked.
Isaac knew immediately what happened to the people, “Damn you Kid.” He whispered to himself.
“Sir?” The men were looking to him now, wondering what was their next move.
“The town has been evacuated. But that doesn’t mean we can’t show the State we mean business. We will burn this city to the ground!”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The men twirled around to face the young man that stood behind them. “It’s not safe to play with fire, you may get burned.”
Isaac slowly turned to meet his enemy’s gaze, “KID!”
“That isn’t my name! My name is Alphonse Elric!” Suddenly all the men raised their guns, “…”
“NO! The rest of you men do as I said, destroy this town. Leave this one to me.” His tone was cold, so cold it sent a shiver down Kid’s spine.
The men quickly dispatched running in every direction, but not long after they separated did gun shots fill the air. “Their in the buildings!” One of the rebels yelled.
“How many?” Another questioned.
“I…I don’t know…their everywhere!”
Rebels fell in every direction, as random windows lit up with the shots of State soldiers and police.
“Quick, into the buildings! Find them and Kill them all!”
Rebels scattered into any random building looking for cover or the enemy, until after a while the streets were once again eerily clear. Only two men stood on the streets of Grimrock now, two once friends, now enemies.
“I treated you like a son.” The huge man said in his husky voice.
“You lied to me…about everything…just so you could USE ME!”
“Your right…I did use you…and I was going to let you die here…but then I realized something…”
“Oh…and what is that?”
“You have great power Kid, unlike any alchemist I’ve ever seen. You also know loyalty and honor, two things most men in this world lack. If I had let you die that way I could never live with my self from the shame. You deserve better, which is why I was going to let you live after Grimrock, and sacrifice Jovan instead…”
“…what?” Kid was surprised.
“With you as my second in command, we could have really devastated the State! With my soldiers and your incredible alchemy, the State would have trembled on it’s knees!” There was a strange look in Isaac’s eyes, almost as if he could see something far off in the distance. “But then, that damn State Alchemist interfered and ruined everything.” Kid was totally silent, unsure of how to react to all this new information. Suddenly a glint of silver shown through the flap of Isaac’s long trench coat. “Goodbye…Kid…”
Time slowed down as Kid realized this was going to be his death. There was no way he could get out of this one, and immediately he thought of Edward and how much he would miss him. There were so many memories he would never remember, so many times spent with Edward he would never know. All he could see was Edwards face, his smile…his eyes…
“MOVE!!!” And then Kid was violently shoved, landing on his side. Looking up he saw a bright gold intensified by the sun, it looked like an angel.
BANG
Alphonse age: 17
Twigs snapped and crinkled as the men set up camp. Soldiers in blue uniforms were pitching tents and starting fires. The day had been long for the men and they were ready to sleep.
“Sir?”
“Yes First lieutenant Burnam?” The Soul Alchemist said, stopping his tent pitching.
“Are we going to move in on the rebels tomorrow?”
Alphonse quickly searched his surroundings making sure there was no one in hearing distance. “Don’t say anything, but yes we are.” Burnam’s face instantly dropped, Al could see the worry in his eyes. “…don’t worry David, you’ll be fine…I promise.”
“Well…It’s not me I’m worried about.”
“Huh?”
“You see, I’ve got a girl back home. She and I love each other very much. Before I enlisted I promised her I wouldn’t be in any battles since the State is reversing all of it’s war policies. I just…if I died tomorrow…it would cause her a great deal of pain…”
“You’re worried about what will happen to her if she loses you.”
“…yeah…”
Alphonse liked Burnam, even though David was a year older than him, David always seemed to treat him like an older brother. “Don’t worry Dave, I’ll make her love will return to her.”
The First Lieutenant smiled, “Thanks sir.”
“For tonight, just call me Al.”
“…Okay…Al…”
The sun was beginning to set then and the sky lit up with beautiful colors. The two watched the clouds roll by, admiring the tranquility.
“So…have you ever loved someone Al?”
The alchemist didn’t reply right away, not until he took his eyes off the sunset and focused them on the ground. “…yes…I did…”
“…what happened…If you don’t mind my asking?” Burnam Added quickly.
“No, its okay.” Al took a deep breath before continuing. “I loved someone, very much so, but there were complications…”
“What complications?”
“Well our relationship…let’s just say there were certain aspects of our relationship that put us at risk.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was afraid that if people found out about us, then both my lover and I would lose many things we hold dear. I didn’t want that to happen, so in the end…I left that person.”
“So…you were afraid of what other people would think?”
“Well…more or less…”
Burnam didn’t reply right away, but eventually continued. “Forgive me for being so blunt sir…but that was stupid.”
“What!?”
“If you truly love some one, from the bottom of your heart, then who cares what the rest of the world thinks.”
“…but…it’s not that simple…”
“Well, shouldn’t it be?”
“What do you mean?”
“Love, is it really that complicated. If you love someone, there isn’t some test you’ve got to take to verify that you do. You just do. So who cares what the consequences may be, nothing is more important than love.”
The alchemist starred at David long and hard before bowing his head down and whispering, “Idiot Alphonse!”
“What was that Al?”
“Thank you David.”
“For what?”
“For knowing what love is.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, never mind. You should get more rest, tomorrows gonna be a big day.”
*
BOOM, the sound of a small explosion startled Alphonse out of his sleep. He quickly threw on his jacket, not bothering to button it up, and rushed out side.
“What the!?” It was chaos before Al’s eyes, his men were being slaughtered by unseen gunshots from the trees. Immediately he thought of Burnam. “I’ve got to find him!”
Running through the camp and hiding behind anything he could Al searched the area. All he could see were his frantic soldiers scattering through the woods. It was like a war zone, grenades exploded, people screamed in agony, and bullets tore through everything, including Alphonse’s side.
“Agh!!!” He yelled in pain as he clenched his side. “I have to find David!”
He quickly rose to his feet and began to dash in the direction he had seen the First Lieutenant leave the night before. Then there they were, the Drachmian rebels Palmer had informed him off, they were everywhere.
With a clap and a ‘bashoom’ two of the rebels were encased in rock. “Ugh!!!” Another bullet tore through his shoulder. “BURNAM!!” he took off once more.
Finally reaching the tent he rushed in…and there Burnam was…covered in his own blood. “S-sir?”
“David!” Al rushed to his side as Burnam lay on the ground clenching his stomach. “David, hang on! Please just hang on!”
“A-al…t-the rebels-s…their h-here…”
“I know, I know, just please hang on!”
Burnam began to jerk violently, “A-AL…S-SIR…”
“Stay with me!” Al pleaded as the tears fell. “Don’t go, I promised…you can’t go!”
“A-Alana…I can s-see her A-al…Al-alana.” At that final word…he was gone.”
“David? DAVID!? NO! NO I PROMISED YOU! I PROMISED!” A loud explosion interrupted Alphonse’s mourning. And he knew what needed to be done.
Quickly rushing out of the tent the clapped his hands and encased the nearest rebel in stone. But he soon realized that wouldn’t be enough, there were too many. Then he heard it.
“Ha,ha,ha,ha!” The voice was booming and husky, it came from the center of their camp, so the alchemist followed it. “Aha,ha,ha,ha!”
Finally reaching his destination, he saw the horrible voice’s source, he was stunned. There before him stood a huge man, but most noticeable were his four metal limbs, his two auto-mail legs were thick and looked extraordinarily powerful. His two arms were just as amazing except one had a large barrel where the hand should have been, and the other had a long sword protruding from the wrist.
The man’s gun fired mercilessly upon the soldiers, his long sword slashed any who came too close. An anger boiled in Alphonse’s blood, unlike any he had ever felt before.
“DAMN YOU!” He yelled as he clapped his hands together and smacked the ground. A large stone sculpture of a woman with braided hair rose from the ground, and with another clap the stone warrior came to life.
The huge man quickly spotted the statue coming toward him and opened fire, but before the rock could be completely obliterated, a swift kick toppled the man over. Seeing his chance, the alchemist rushed toward the man ready to strike.
“…” To Al’s great surprise the man quickly rose, his auto-mail legs propelled him faster than Al thought possible. “Ugh!” He was quickly smacked by the large gun-barrel arm, and flung many feet.
“Ha,ha,ha! You must be that State Alchemist Plamer was talking about. I’m going to enjoy killing you!”
Thinking quickly Alphonse transmuted a wall between he and his attacker. “What the!? How did you do that without a circle!?” The man bellowed as he quickly smashed the wall down. “Ack!”
Alphonse quickly recovered and attacked, knocking the behemoth back. “I don’t need a circle!”
“That’s impossible! Only one State Alchemist has ever achieved that feat, and your not him!”
“SHUT UP! YOU’LL PAY FOR WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” Alphonse thrust himself toward his foe and attacked with all his might, but the man’s legs proved too fast for him.
“So you use your arms as a circle eh?” He said as he dodged the attacks. “Usually I disrupt alchemist’s arrays so that they can’t perform, but you don’t use one. No matter, I’ll just have to improvise!”
And before Al could see it coming, the man’s gun barrel landed on his left shoulder, “Ah!” and fired. “AAAGH!”
The force of the blast threw Alphonse back, flinging his jacket clean off. With lighting speed the man closed the distance between the two and kicked the alchemist in the side, flinging him even farther.
“Ha, ha! Pathetic State Alchemist!” Alphonse slowly rose again and as soon as he was on his feet he painfully rose his left hand to meet the other. “Oh no you don’t!”
With incredible speed the man rushed foreword and swung his mighty sword. “AAAAAAGGGGHHHH!!!” The pain was excruciating. With a sickening thud, the young man’s left arm hit the ground, followed closely by its owner.
“Damn you’re a tough one! I thought for sure destroying your shoulder would do the trick, but oh no! I had to take the whole damn arm off!” The enemy said as he slowly approached his prey.
Alphonse lay on his back, broken and bleeding, completely helpless. “This is a great day for Drachma! Look around you dog of the military. Your men fall under the guns of Drachma’s proud! And now I will add another alchemist to my death toll.” The huge beast stood over his opponent and aimed his barrel directly in between his eyes. “Any last words?”
Alphonse starred down the barrel, and realized this was it. Edward wouldn’t be coming to save him this time. He would never even see Edward again, and all that filled his heart was... “Regret!”
Just then a stray bullet collided with the huge metal arm knocking it off aim.
BANG
“Damn it!” He quickly looked around to see if the area was safe, then returned his gaze upon the alchemist. He was silent as the night, his eyes shut lightly. “Ah well, at least he makes a pretty corpse…HA!”
Leaving the alchemist where he lay, the huge man and his mechanical arms and legs resumed their bloody reign of chaos. Soldier after soldier fell under his guns, until finally all who wore blue uniforms were dead. All except one.
“Isaac! HEY, ISAAC!” A dark skinned man yelled to his superior.
“What is it Jovan?” Said the commander as he approached his second in command’s position.
“Look, this ones still alive.”
“What!? That can’t be. I shot him in the head!”
Inspecting the body more closely, Jovan then replied. “He was hit in the head, but it looks like you just missed his brain.”
“Even so, with his injuries and blood loss he should be dead! There’s something special about this alchemist.”
Jovan’s eyes flew open, “This young man is a State Alchemist?” Isaac nodded, and the Ishbalan immediately pulled out his pistol. “Then let me finish him off!”
“NO!”
By this time all the men in the area had stopped to watch the drama, and to see the outcome of the alchemist’s fate.
“What do you mean, no!? He’s a State Alchemist! He deserves to die!”
Isaac didn’t answer immediately; instead he starred at the mess of a man before of him thinking. “…this kids been shot more times than anyone else here, beaten badly, lost an arm, and shot in the head yet his heart is still beating. There’s something in this alchemist, some great will to live that keeps him living, as though he feels he needs to live for something…or maybe even someone…”
“How can you tell all that!? How do you know he’s not just really lucky?”
“Because I’ve been in his position before, beaten and broken, inches from death. If it weren’t for my will to live I wouldn’t be standing before you now, literally.” The huge metal arms rose into the air as Isaac admired their beauty.
“So then what are we going to do with him.”
Isaac looked around, searching the area, he found the arm of his enemy, and an idea formed in his head. “If he wants to live that badly, we’ll let him live. That way we can use him as a ransom against the State. But we can’t let them know we have him until he recovers or else they’ll send the entire military at us…”
Jovan stood patiently waiting for his superior to continue. “…so then what do we do…”
“We need to make it look like he died here, make it look like he was utterly destroyed.” As he said this, the large man walked some distance away and picked up a tattered and bloody military jacket. “We need to leave proof that he was killed here, but this jacket alone won’t do.”
“What are you getting at Isaac?” The superior’s eyes darted to the ground near Jovan’s feet. Looking down, Jovan found his answer.
*
“BROTHER!!!” Alphonse yelled in dismay as he watched his beloved fall to the ground. The pain in his head was excruciating as all the memories of his life flooded in from some unknown source. But none of that mattered; all that did was getting to his love. Rushing to his brother’s side he quickly lifted his head onto his lap. “Brother, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for what I did, for what I said. I didn’t mean any of it. I’m so sorry! Brother, please don’t hate me! Please be okay, please!” Al mumbled frantically.
Edward stared up into his brother’s eyes. “A-Alphonse? Are your memories…?”
“Yes! I remember now. I remember everything. Are you okay!?” The younger brother said as he searched Edward’s body up and down.
“Yeah, I think I’m fine.” Edward cringed, “I don’t think he hit any vital organs at least. But it sure does hurt a lot!”
“This is all very touching but…” Isaac’s booming voice rang through the street, “I believe we have a score to settle.” And at that, his huge over coat was flung into the air revealing the mighty metal limbs. Alphonse starred at the shining arms and legs, it was hard to believe he hadn’t seen them in three years, because to him it felt like just yesterday that he was battling them.
“Holy crap! That exlains why he could move so fast!” Edward said looking from his position in Alphonse’s lap. “I’ve never seen...” Then he remembered, and looking to his beloved brother’s left arm, it all made sense.
“And that’s why Isaac had such a good auto-mail engineer at hand, that’s why my auto-mail is so good.” Alphonse answered, then looked up to his enemy. “Alright Isaac, let’s end this.”
“It would be my pleasure.” The husky voice whispered as the giant metal barrel pointed toward the two alchemists.
“…” Alphonse couldn’t do anything from his position, he slowly rested Edwards head down and stood over him.
“good bye Kid!”
“Alphonse! MOVE!”
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA
The sound was deafening, as the bullets created a dense fog while they hit the ground. All that could bee seen once Isaac opened fire was smoke. “huh…that was easy.” The large man commented. “Looks like the runt didn’t have such a strong will after……….WHAT?”
Once the dust settled and the fog cleared, the glinting metal of the beautifully designed shield which Alphonse had transmuted from his metal arm, shone bright in the afternoon sun. The shield was large and elegant, and in the middle, Isaac could see what looked like a cross with a snake slithering up it. Alphonse stood then with his shield attached and held to the side. “Your not gonna get away with that this time!”
“GYAAAAA!” Isaac roared in anger as he lunged toward his opponent once again after three years.
“Come on!” Alphonse answered with a growl, and the battle was on.
Isaac swung his mighty blade, only to be deflected by the beautiful shield. The smaller fighter recovered and quickly retaliated with a series of kicks and jabs to the body. Stumbling a few feet, Isaac’s lightning fast legs tore through the air as his kick just barely missed Al’s head. The giant swung everything he had at his enemy, but couldn’t seem to connect any of his blows. Alphonse flipped and twirled marvelously, it was as if after three years he hadn’t forgotten any of his moves. Edward watched in awe, the Soul Alchemist was truly back.
“Damn you Kid!” Isaac howled as the alchemist landed a swift kick to the stomach.
“Give up Isaac!” Alphonse yelled as he continued his attack, “You can’t win!”
“I’ll kill you!”
The fight continued as Isaac swung his sword viciously, aiming for deadly strikes. Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t even nick the alchemist. It was determination that drove Alphonse now, determination that drove his fists and legs. He would defeat Isaac here. He would get revenge, three years worth of it. He would leave this place with his brother, his love.
Isaac’s long barrel arm rushed forward and stopped it’s aim over Al’s face, but before a single bullet could hit him the shield was there. Once the bombardment of shots was over, Al rushed toward his enemy slamming into him with great force.
“HUFF!!!” Isaac mumbled as the wind was literally knocked out of him.
With a great cloud of dust the giant was finally down. Alphonse stood triumphant over his adversary. “Now, give up Isaac. It’s over.”
“huff, huff, no little alchemist, huff, your mistaken.”
Suddenly it was apparent to Alphonse that he was surrounded by Isaac’s men. There wasn’t all of Isaac’s men there, but enough to do the job.
“Damn it!” Edward growled as he stood to his feet, pain racing through his body as he clutched his stomach.
Alphonse slowly walked over and took Edward’s side, “What now brother?”
“Well, we’re gonna have to fight.” The men were beginning to raise their guns now.
“…brother…in case we don’t make it out of this, do you remember when I came to get you out of that tent?”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, I never really told you what I wanted too, I was too afraid.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right…what was it.”
“…I love you.”
Edward quickly turned his attention to Alphonse. He stared into those huge grey eyes he loved so much. “…I know you do…”
“Okay men,” Isaac barked as he got to his feet, “fire on my mark!”
The brothers stood tall,
“Ready!”
unafraid of death.
“AIM!”
Because they had eachother.
BOOOOM!
“WHAT THE HELL!!” Isaac yelled in complete surprise. A huge explosion sent many of his men flying through the air and covered the street in smoke and dust. Once the ashes cleared enough to see, Isaac could clearly make out the culprit, “MUSTANG!!!”
“Hello Isaac, long time no see.” The General said coolly, just as a small army of soldiers rushed into battle with the rebels.
Chaos ensued as soldier fought with the rebels on the cramped town streets. Bullets flew everywhere as the two brothers watched in awe.
Suddenly Alphonse caught the General’s eye, and he immediately rushed over. He quickly grasped the younger man by the shoulder’s holding him there tightly to get a look at his face. “Alphonse? You really were alive.”
“Hello General, it’s good to see you again.”
The man shook himself from his shock and returned a small smile.
“I TOLD YOU HE WAS ALIVE!”
“Of course he was alive, I knew it all along.” Mustang replied calmly.
“………………WHAAAAAAT!?”
“It was obvious he was alive Fullmetal, you were just too short to realize it.”
“………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!” Edward fumed furiously, “WHO YOU CALLIN SO SHORT HE COULDN’T TELL HIS OWN BROTHER WAS ALIVE THROUGH STRANGE DREAMS!!!”
“…Brother, that doesn’t even make sense.”
“I hate to break up this reunion of yours but…...I’M GOING TO KILL YOU ALL!!!” Isaac howled in anger.
Mustang snapped his fingers and blew a small burst of flame into Isaacs face, knocking him down. “Go Alphonse, take your brother and get him to safety. I’ll take care of…”
“No!”
“What?”
“I’m sorry General, but this is my fight.”
Mustang starred into Alphonse’s eyes, and knew he wasn’t going to change his mind. “…okay Al, I’ll get Edward out of here. But don’t you dare go and die! I’ll have to listen to Edwards childish rants for years!”
“um hello I’m right here…” Edward interjected.
“Thanks General, he’s hurt so you’ll probably have to carry him, it won’t be that hard.”
“hey what’s that supposed to mean!”
“Alright Alphonse, I’ll make sure Fullmetal is safe.”
“Can I have any say in this? It is ME we’re talking about!”
Alphonse turned to his beloved then and looked deep into his eyes, this could be the last time he did so. Grasping him in a tight embrace he whispered into his ear. “Brother, you have to go. This is my fight now…I won’t die this time.”
Edward hugged back as hard as he could, afraid to lose his beloved once more to Isaac. “…Okay Al…kick his ass!”
“Will do.” And with that Edward quickly released his love and retreated with Mustang away from danger.
The battle around them raged on as Isaac and his opponent starred into each other’s heart. Now was the real battle, the battle of two who once called each other friends. One would die today.
“Are you ready Kid?”
“Are you?”
“You know me Kid, I’m always ready to kill.”
“But are you ready to die?”
“Come now kid,” Isaac said mockingly, “you couldn’t hurt a fly! You were always so cautious during training, making sure you didn’t hurt any birds or squirrels. You couldn’t kill me as much as you could those animals.”
“Kid couldn’t, but I’m not Kid. My name is Alphonse Elric, son to Trisha Elric and brother to Edward Elric. I remember that now, I remember who I am, and I remember what you took from me.” The images of Edward’s sad eyes that last time he saw them before coming here flashed in his mind along with the blood stained friend that died in front of his very eyes. “Knowing that, I’m unafraid of the consequences of taking a life, just as you took mine.”
Isaacs face was stern now, “So that’s how it is then…‘Alphonse’”
“This is for David…and my brother!” The Soul alchemist dashed foreward, closing this distance between his target and himself.
“COME THEN, COME AND KILL ME!!!” Isaac roared.
With a tremendous clash Isaac’s sword smashed into Alphonse’s shield. The smaller man quickly recovered from the attack and wasted no time in throwing a flurry of punches at his enemy. Isaac’s body recoiled from the barrage of attacks as he tried to escape Alphonse’s fury. The huge gun arm swung through the air headed straight for the alchemist’s head, missing only by inches. Al retaliated with a series of combos further injuring his opponent and with a swift kick to the abdomen Isaac skid backwards against the cement street.
“I don’t think you were properly acquainted with my teacher the first time you met her,” Alphonse said matter-of-factly. “I think it’s time you two got to know each other a bit better.” And with flashes of alchemy, stone statues of the braid haired woman were on the attack, four on each side of Isaac each coming from a different direction.
“WHY YOU LITTLE!!!” Isaac yelled as the statues unleashed hell on him.
RATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!!!
Statue after statue fell until all lay on the ground in pieces and the air was filled with the dust from their shattered concrete bodies.
“’huff,huff’ Where are you dammit!!!” Isaac yelled into the dense fog.
“HERE!” The voice came from above as Alphonse fell from the heavens, smashing his shield into Isaac’s face.
“OOOFFFFF!!!” He muttered as the giant man fell to the ground.
Alphonse stood above him, the evening sun creating a silhouette in Isaac’s eyes. “So what now…you going to shoot me in the head?”
“…no, I’m not an animal like you. Get up!” The younger stepped back and waited.
“You know Kid,” The giant man grunted as he stood to his feet. “my training seems to have made you a damn good fighter. Last time I fought you, it wasn’t this hard.”
“It isn’t your training that’s making me fight this hard.”
“…oh? Well, there’s only one thing it could be then. Were you in love before you came here?”
“…huh?” Alphonse said in confusion, how could Isaac know that.
“You were in love weren’t you, and you lost the one you cared about when I shot you.” Isaac’s husky voice was calm as he said this.
“…”
“I was once in love as well you see. But my love was taken from me…by the state…” There was a strange look in Isaac’s eyes, something Al had never seen there before. “…she was Jovan’s sister you see…she was killed in the war in Ishbal…that day, three years ago…it was my revenge for my lost love. I had never fought so hard until that day, and ever since I have never matched my skill on that day. Something happens to people when they lose someone they love…it goes beyond rational thinking. I knew you were in love from the first time I fought you, the look in your eyes told me so. I also knew this day would come, and you would take your revenge. I can’t lie though; I secretly prayed that it wouldn’t.”
“I see.” Alphonse replied, unsure of how to react to all this information.
“You and I are very much alike Kid, oh sorry ‘Alphonse’. Although you may not see it now, someday you will. The only real difference between us is that I don’t think you’ve truly lost the one you care for, have you?” Alphonse slowly shook his head in agreement. “…good…I guess the only thing to do now is take you vengeance on me isn’t it.” The young man nodded in agreement. “As soon as this is over, leave this place…leave it and never come back. Go straight to the one you love and stay there, don’t you dare go anywhere because one day they may not be waiting for you anymore, and it will only be then that you realize how much they mean to you.”
“…okay…I will…” Al answered truthfully.
With one last look into each others eyes, the two opponents took their positions. “Goodbye…Kid…”
“…goodbye Isaac…”
Each second took hours as the two rushed to each other in battle for the last time. Alphonse’s metal arm and flesh hand fought furiously as Isaac’s expertly crafted limbs flew through the air. The fight was incredible yet unnoticed amongst the turmoil in the streets between the rebels and the soldiers. No one would ever know of the ferocity of the duel. No one would ever see the care each took to make sure their blows were on point. No one would ever feel the immense emotion that flooded the air around them.
After what seemed like an eternity Isaac fell to the ground, defeated. His body was bloody, broken and his breath came short. The amount of damage done to him from the metal shield Alphonse wielded was unfathomable.
Alphonse slowly wobbled over and fell to his knees besides his defeated foe. His own body had it’s own damage but nothing as severe as Isaac’s.
“Con-congratulations Kid. Y-you can f-finally go home.”
“Yes, I finally can.” The alchemists replied softly.
“…y-you do as I s-said y-you hear? Go back t-to the one you c-care for n-now…and d-don’t you ever l-leave them”
“…I will…”
Isaac’s eyes starred to the sky, and he took his final breath.
*
Edward lay in the medical tent, away from all the fighting on the other side of town. He noticed the gunfire had stopped some time ago and that the soldiers were beginning to return now. Peering through the open flap in his tent he searched for his brother amongst the men. Suddenly there was a glint, of something metal. It wasn’t a gun or a badge, it was auto mail, and he knew exactly who’s it was. Ignoring the pain in his side, Ed leapt out of the cot, paying no attention to the nurse’s complaints, and ran straight toward the glinting metal.
“Alpho…!?” Stopping dead in his tracks he could see now that it was much bigger auto mail, and I wasn’t attached to anything. A soldier was holding it up, showing other soldiers.
“…I took it off some rebel lying in the street, the guy was huge!”
Edward’s hope slowly sank, and a fear crept up in his heart. But then he heard something, something that nearly brought tears to his eyes. “Brother?”
Ed twirled around, praying his mind was playing tricks on him like it did when he slept. There before him was the most beautiful sight he had seen in years. “Alphonse!”
Alphonse stood there, his long hair messy and dirty. His cloths ripped and his body bruised. “I’m here brother, can we go home now?”
Neither Ed nor Alphonse could remember much of the rest of that day besides the tight embrace they shared for almost an hour. They didn’t really cared what happened after that, all that mattered was that they were together. Never again would they leave each other alone, never again would they question their relationship. They would live happy lives together, always cherishing what they had.
Alphonse never forgot what Burnam and Isaac had told him. He remembered them every day he spent with Edward.
The End
***
Thank you so much for reading!!! I really enjoyed writing this fic and since it's probably my last I hope you enjoyed it as well. If anyone wants me to write an epilogue I will but otherwise I wasn't planning on it. Once again thank you so much for reading.
And here are all the last chapters as well!
The Soul Alchemist 1, The Soul Alchemist 2, The Soul Alchemist 3, The Soul Alchemist 4, The Soul Alchemist 5, The Soul Alchemist 6, The Soul Alchemist 7, The Soul Alchemist 8