Firebrand, chapter 11 (complete)
*coughs* I debated, but... And now, time for the super-happy ending!
I mean, come on, it's zoofic :) It's already silly.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight, First Half
Chapter Eight, Second Half
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
The two combatants skidded to a halt near the side of the world (wall, Edward’s mind whispered for the first time). The Envy screamed and clawed, but hell hath no fury like an Alphonse enraged.
“< LEAVE - >” A punch. “< MY - >” Another punch. “< BROTHER - >” A kick. “< ALONE. >” Alphonse was on top of it, not caring that its claws were getting him; Edward nearly screamed to see the blood dripping from his sibling’s side.
The Envy scrabbled to get out from under the crazed Elric but Alphonse only followed it; leapt forward and received a frantic kick for his efforts. The Envy bent backwards and flipped end over end, landed on its feet and shifted nervously.
Alphonse was breathing heavily, but his bared teeth spoke volumes. Above them, the humans were crying, screaming, jibbering. Edward ignored them, focused only on his brother.
“< Your fight is with me. >” Alphonse snarled, and before the Envy even finished evaluating whether he was a threat or not, he attacked.
“< The hell it is! >” The Envy gasped, and wheeled around to kick his brother in the side. Alphonse whirled and just snapped his teeth at the retreating limb, howled when a fist followed and knocked his head back.
Edward groaned. Alphonse was a good fighter, but it had been many weeks since he’d really even practiced, and he was giving up much, much too much ground in favor of angry, emotion-clouded offensives. Alphonse didn’t even seem to notice that the other beast was raking the hell out of his flanks, because he was too busy driving into its chest with fists. He didn’t even seem to be feeling it.
He’s going to get himself killed. Edward realized with a cold sort of impartiality. Al is going to charge in wrong and it’s going to have its arm out, and it’s going to flip him over and sink its fangs into his jugular.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He tried to rise again and the pain was immediate, but at least he could still move his right ankle. Only bruised then, he hoped. More problematic was his right shoulder, strangely numb around the area next to his automail port. He couldn’t raise his automail over his head, it lost strength about halfway up. He hissed in frustration and brought his hands together to shorten his blade, make it easier to get at his palms. Alchemy it would have to be.
The humans exploded into fits as Alphonse tore down the side of the Envy’s leg, earned a kick that sent him sailing into the wall, left him momentarily stunned. Edward swallowed. It was now or never.
“< Hey you! >” He called, waved his blade horizontally toward the Envy. “< Yeah, you! Over here! >”
The Envy whipped its head around and roared, a deep, alien sound that made Edward’s legs turn to water. One of them, at least. The other was metal, couldn’t feel anything; that was all that kept him standing.
“< I’m not done with you yet! >” Edward called, put all his energy into just standing still. His palms itched. Wanted to summon his canon. But he couldn’t risk hurting Alphonse; had to get it up close, had to make sure there
“< Motherfucker! >” The Envy rumbled, and without fanfare or elegance, turned and charged toward him.
In the background Alphonse recovered his breath, promptly spent it.
“< NIISAN! >”
One good transmutation. That’s all he needed. And that’s all he would get. He took a deep breath, reached within himself, and brought his palms together.
Fifteen paces…ten paces…it was almost on top of him…
Edward slammed his hands to the earth, and threw everything he had out into spikes.
The ground in front of him spiraled up and exploded, birthed a forest of sharp edges, thick, thicker than he had ever summoned before. The Envy shrieked as the earth beneath it roiled; leapt to one side and the transmutation followed it, tips of new spikes tearing its feet into ribbons, slashed the sides of its legs. Screaming, it jacked backwards, forwards, this way and that-
And then pushed hard with its hands, flipped over it all, and smashed into Edward’s chest like a train.
Pain exploded through his shoulder and Edward skidded back, on his ass; white spots invaded his vision as the creature jumped and straddled him, held his hips down so he could not possibly right himself. The smell of its blood was all over him, drowned him, but there was nothing comforting in the way it filled his nose. It had one, bloodied, hand on his flesh arm, and he could not bring his palms together.
He was going to die.
“< I’ll ask you one more time. >” The Envy screamed. Spittle flew into his right eye and Edward closed it reflexively, left his left alone with the tear-blurred shape of his enemy.
Al…please, be running. Please, just run…
“< Where is your bastard mate? WHERE IS MY FATHER!? >”
“< I d-don’t know… >” He coughed weakly. “< I don’t h-have a mate. I don’t k-know your f-father. >”
The Envy howled and tore at the earth with its claws; whether in madness or disappointment, Edward did not know. It drew back its free hand.
Edward closed his other eye.
“< Then. >” The Envy said simply. “< You die. >”
Fire split the sky, and its fury was so bright he could see it through his eyelids.
The Envy shrieked and spasmed forward, raked across the back by the claws of a heat that no living thing had ever known, no fireplace had born witness to. In all the rest of his days he would never forget the smell of it, the horrible reek of burning hair and flesh instantaneously cooked. The flames were so hot that Edward could feel his hair singeing from where he lay on the ground, and his exposed flesh reddened, blistered.
The light winked out just as suddenly as it had come, and the Envy’s eyes rolled back in its head; its whole body toppling forward and pinning him to earth. Its bushy hair was still smoldering.
Edward didn’t even have time to start clawing at it. A second light rose almost immediately afterward, and his spike-forest shattered to give way to Alphonse, woozy and walking in diagonals. His sibling wobbled toward them, unsteady; collapsed upon his knee, and quite casually rolled the Envy off and tore what was left of its throat out.
“< Al… >” He swallowed, not sure what else to say.
“< Just making sure. >” His brother smiled at him, blood dripping merrily from his fangs. Edward shivered. “< Are you alright? I feel kind of dizzy. >”
“< Did you hit your head?! >” Edward yelped. He had seen the way the Envy had thrown his sibling into the wall. Alphonse’s sides were still oozing too, but the wounds he could see were darkening, clotted.
“< Only a little. But Niisan…that fire… >”
Edward nodded. “< The Mustang… >” He breathed.
The perfect circle of light above them suddenly wobbled crazily, blinked dark shadows everywhere. Alphonse crouched down and hissed, staring skyward; Edward tilted his head back and joined in the stare. The humans were babbling, shouting in insane cacophony; far off, he thought he heard a high voice scream.
One of the suns, two, three, fizzled and went out. Out of the void where they had been, Edward thought he made out a shock of black hair, and the faintest hint of blue.
“< Niisan. >” Alphonse gasped. There were figures struggling up there…shouting…the dark-haired one slid further into view, thrashed a blue-pelted arm out to try and keep itself from tilting.
From what no longer seemed like the sky at all, a large box teetered and fell to the ground.
“< That’s the Mustang… >” Alphonse whimpered, buried his face into his sibling’s shoulder. “< Niisan, I’m seeing things, please help me, it’s flying… >”
Edward closed his eyes and shivered, remembered what the Mustang had told him, about the worlds that existed outside of worlds, the skies that could swallow even the largest sky he knew. About looking down from the clouds with their owner at the fighting, that the suns were just boxes, quite small from the back…
Remembered his earlier wall, high enough to block out the light from those suns…
“< Al. >” He gasped. “< Help me. >”
“< What? >”
“< I need to make a new kind of wall. >”
He reached out to his brother with his one good arm, and they made a circle with each other.
They almost didn’t make it in time. The Mustang fell just as their artificial hill began to rise, dropped several feet before the slope made it up to him. It hit the transmuted earth hard and rolled down on its side, arms flopping about, spin completely uncontrolled. It came upon level, normal dirt and skidded, came to a stop mere paces away.
It didn’t move.
Edward rose and scrambled to its side on two legs and one arm; Alphonse followed, a little steadier now. Edward knelt beside the Mustang and snuffled, noted the sweat around its cheeks and the trembling of its eyelashes. The silver collar was pulled up tight around its throat, left an angry red ring both above and below.
“< I don’t think it can breathe. >” Alphonse said worriedly.
His shoulder was agony, but Edward managed to move his automail forward and clap his hands together. He touched his finger to the chain, and luckily, luckily could feel his way to unraveling it.
The chain fell away and the response was immediate; the Mustang arched and sucked at the air. Its lungs made a sharp, sharp rattling sound like a pebble trapped.
“< Hey…hey, you alright? >” Edward said, snuffled at it, concerned.
“< Elric… >” The Mustang said weakly, could say nothing more than that.
The humans were in a panic, screaming things, throwing things. Bottles hit the ground around them, exploded; Edward tried to bring up a shield and failed entirely. So…tired… He waved blindly toward his littermate.
“< Al, can you - >”
“< Yes. >” His brother brought his palms together and brought a serviceable, if lop-sided, wall around the three of them. Edward wondered in concern if his sibling’s brains had been scrambled or something. He had seen that happen to a Havoc he hit, once.
“< We don’t have…much time… >” The Mustang rasped. “< They’ll be coming…to finish it… >”
“< What did you do? >” Edward hissed. “< Mustang, that fire… >”
“< [Tactical loss]. >” The Mustang gasped. “< They had the whole thing planned… >” A ragged whistle as it tried to draw more air from its bruised, already purpling throat. “< My owner. The Envy-tooth. They wanted it to eat you. So your brother would armorize… >”
Alphonse tittered, pressed his nose hard into the side of Edward’s neck. “< Oh, niisan… >”
“< Only got off one shot - went for my hands - started choking me - had to get away - >” The Mustang finished, and rolled onto its side so it could start coughing its lunch up. Edward looked down and its hands, and saw the ripped ruin of what must have been its glove.
“< Stupid bastard. >” He growled, but reached forward to hold its head back.You wasted your one shot for me.
A bottle crashed into the top of the low part of their barricade, shattered; fire-water splashed down and pelted Alphonse, made their hiding place smell sour and nasty. His brother squeaked and he shook his mane at the offending reek, but really, what could he do? The lightning boxes would be coming soon, and he was trapped with an arm that didn’t work, a dizzy, bleeding littermate, and a completely useless Mustang. The best he had was his alchemy, but he was really only good for one, maybe two more transmutations, max. And if the adrenaline wore off anytime soon, he wasn’t at all sure he’d even be able to do that.
Great. Just great. He slumped against his sibling and panted, bone-weary, tried not to think about how much his shoulder hurt. His mind raced in circles, chased its own tail; but never, never caught onto a solution.
And then suddenly the quality of the screams gave way to a different sort of excitement, confused; the humans no longer threw bottles or any other projectiles. Edward kept waiting to hear the crunch of handler footsteps, but all he heard was a symphony of panic. Something popped, loud and distant, and Edward nearly jumped out of his skin, sent a fresh burst of pain through his damaged shoulder.
“< …I don’t think they’re coming. >” Alphonse said, after a time.
They waited a little longer before his brother cautioned to make a hole in the shield, took a glance outside. Edward growled at the perceived blow to his dominance - he should be taking risks, not his brother! - but his sibling wouldn’t listen to him, went ahead and did his job anyways. He seemed to be steadier, but Edward still didn’t trust it. The scent of blood was still fierce on his poor sibling’s side; he could not be too careful.
“< Niisan, I…I don’t see anyone. >” His brother reported, puzzled. “< Something…something weird is happening. Up There. >”
“< I figured. >” The Mustang said hoarsely. He was slowly sitting up. “< I thought I heard gunshots. >”
“< …me, too. >” Edward admitted, unhappy. “< Do you think there’s a Hawkeye? >”
“< Not…likely. >” The Mustang winced. It sounded like it hurt to talk, but its voice was stronger, at least. “< Didn’t see one. >”
“< Well? >” Alphonse asked, after a time. “< What now? >”
The Mustang smiled, a crooked sort of expression.
“< We do the only thing we can do. We go up, out, and over. >”
They had to join hands and enlarge their hill a bit further to make it up to the suns, and it took everything Edward had not to just fall forward after the whole thing was done.
“< You alright, Elric? >” The Mustang asked, placed an unwelcome hand on the crook of his automail elbow. Alphonse was there too, making a worried noise; he hated them both, momentarily.
“< You look - >”
“< Shut up. >” He glared daggers at both of them, shook himself lightly. “< I know what I look like. >” In the last stages of exhaustion, he could feel the froth gathering at the corners of his lips.
Just a little further. His brother was counting on him. Get his brother to the edge, then Alphonse could climb over, and he…and he…
“< Niisan… >” Alphonse clapped his hands, and then there was a flash of light, and the earth swelled beneath him, and lifted them all the rest of the way to the edge of the sky.
The scene they emerged to was chaos. At first, he could make out nothing but purple spots - too close to the suns; they did not burn the way he thought they should, but their light was still far, far too bright for his eyes - and the vaguest impression of movement, ducked his head down and inhaled, tried to feel with his nose. They were at the cusp of somewhere, he could sense; filled with the thick scent of human, fear, fire-water, and gun smoke. Beyond the ends of the universe, and there was no telling what they would find.
The steady pop-pop of gunfire rang out again, close overhead, and he crawled forward, low, on three limbs.
“< Come ON! >” He hissed, only to find Alphonse was already ahead of him, climbing over a low lip of wall. He followed, gingerly, bit back a whimper as he dropped down onto his sprained foot. His shoulder had long since gone numb, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The Mustang was nowhere in sight.
Behind the glare of the suns now, his vision began to resolve, and he snarled, crouched down low against the wall. Humans fighting humans. Hiding behind tables, holding guns, just like Hawkeyes. Utter insanity. One of them was crouched just a few feet away from his brother, and he warbled a warning.
“< Al, look out! >”
It started, swung its gun barrel round, but his brother was on it before it could fire. A burst of transmutation, and a minor earthquake erupted, knocked the human flat on its ass. Alphonse loped forward and cuffed it, and its head cracked back against a chair and made a sound like a ripe melon squashed. It did not move anymore after that.
“< This ground is strange. >” Alphonse said. “< I can’t figure out how to take it apart. >”
Edward panted, vision winked in and out crazily. Too much stress. Too much noise. Alphonse scurried back to his side and nuzzled him, whined inquisitively.
“< Yeah. >” He panted. “< Give me a sec. >” So…tired…
“< Brother, I smell smoke. >” Alphonse said, pointed upwards. Edward inhaled, agreed; more than just gun smoke, this was thick, cloying. He wasn’t sure if it was the Mustang’s fault or not. He wondered if it was okay.
“< We have to keep moving. >” Alphonse said, started crawling away, and what could he do but crawl after? His heart was pounding in his head, too loud for him to think. Alphonse had the sense to stay down, away from the gun fire; Edward did the hardest thing he had ever done, and trusted to his littermate’s senses. So hard just to breathe…
One knee, then the other, then his shaking, flesh arm. Whole body was shaking. Where were they going? Where were they…
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” A piercing shriek proclaimed, and Alphonse howled right back at it. Edward could only roll his eyes in anguish. “WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!”
A thick burst of gunfire exploded to their right, and his brother yelped, hit the ground just in front of him.
“< AL!? >”
“< It’s alright, I’m okay! Just missed me. >”
His heart was going to beat its way out of his chest.
“< Al, where are you going? What’s going on?! >” Humans were everywhere, their fear-stink, their blood overwhelmed him.
“< I smell fresh air. >” Was all Alphonse would say. “< This way. >”
They hit a wall, turned, crept achingly along it. Edward’s shoulder was no longer so numb, it was screaming; legs were screaming, he just wanted to stop and rest… No. Couldn’t stop, had to keep moving. If he stopped, he would likely never start again.
The smoke was thicker now, and the humans rushing about were like shadows of giants, heads lost in the fog. Edward hissed. Didn’t they know to keep their noses to the ground, where the air was still sweet? Alphonse warbled, and then he felt it too - the sweet, in-rush of air from somewhere where air was still sweet. They rounded a corner, swept into the mouth of a corridor with cold air rushing down it -
“Hello, boys.” A familiar voice hissed, and something large and dark unfolded itself above them.
Their owner.
Alphonse almost leapt instinctively, but Edward threw his flesh arm out; their master was alone, but he was not without protection. A large, long gun rested in its large hands, was already pointed outward. At this range, it would blow his brother’s skull free from his neck.
“Fucking pigs.” The human hissed, inexplicably. “Got the drop on us-EAT SHIT AND DIE!” He screamed, aimed somewhere over their heads, and pulled the trigger. There was sound, and then absence of all sound, nothing but ringing for several long heartbeats.
“-and he fucking ratted.” His owner was saying, reloading by the time their ears had cleared enough to register. “Figures.”
The smell of smoke was thicker; heat was rising, too. The human coughed, and his grip on the weapon slipped - just a bit. Edward’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” His owner asked quietly, turned his gun barrel ever so slightly. “You know there are bad men out there, trying to hurt Daddy?” He indicated the chaos, smoke, screaming shadows just out ahead of them. “You can go hurt them, can’t you.”
“Do this for Daddy, will you?” He wheedled. “Please, Daddy needs you. And if you don’t…” He turned the barrel of the gun ever so slightly toward Alphonse.
Edward nodded slowly, scooted hesitantly backward. He needed no further incentive. Alphonse backed with him, whimpered. Edward continued shuffling, hobbling until Alphonse was exposed, completely out of the corridor.
“< Al. >” He whispered, drew deep upon the last ounce of strength that he had. “< When I move, duck right, behind the wall. >”
“< Niisan- >”
“< Now! >” With everything he had, he brought his flesh palm to his steel one, and brought out his blade. Alphonse jumped to the right, and the Envy-tooth jerked his gun up--
Edward bowed his head in the ways of human submission, and shakily, made as if he were turning to the side.
“< Yes, master. >” He simpered, in the same volume and timber that the Mustang had always used. “< Yes master, I will be good. >”
His owner smiled, and he saw with insane, insane delight that he was missing one of those hideous teeth.
“< There, that’s a good boy…go out and fight for Daddy… >”
Edward coiled his legs beneath him, and realized perhaps that it would be the last thing he ever did.
“< You will never be my father! >” He snarled, picked up his metal arm in his flesh one, and sprang into the air, aimed his blade straight for the bastard’s heart.
It didn’t quite make it. But that was alright, because his blade still sliced true, and the next thing he knew he was one with the human’s middle, and falling, showering in its blood.
They hit the ground hard and pain blossomed up through his body; the blade hit floor through the human’s torso and reverberated back at him. If he’d had breath for it, he would have howled. Dimly, in a haze, he looked up toward the Envy-tooth’s writhing lips. He half-expected his owner to praise him for finally making a good, solid kill.
His owner only made a single, wet gasping noise. A bubble of blood welled up and exploded, and it did not seem like the human would be making any other noises, ever again.
“< Niisan? >”
Edward sagged. His shoulder was agony, his shoulder was fire, and when his owner finally shuddered and spasmed his last, the pain spiraled upward, and the whole world went white.
He must have passed out, for a time. He was next aware of his brother tugging at him, pulling his body up and then out, and he was in a whole new world of pain as his brother wormed his way beneath his good arm.
“< Al…? >” Tried to arch his head, nuzzle his sibling; Alphonse hissed and jerked back.
“< We’re being watched. >” He said, and jacked his head over his shoulder.
Edward tilted his head, bleary. The Mustang was standing there, a queer look on his face. It was almost impossible to see, through the smoke - through the flames! - behind it, but a few things he could tell. Its skin had turned gray, for some reason; pelt had gone gray as well. Time seemed extremely unkind, all of a sudden.
On the back of its hand, in the space where its pelt--glove had been, was a small circle drawn in blood.
Edward swallowed, pulled away from his sibling. No. Not gray skin.
It was covered in ashes.
“< Did you find your prey? >” The Mustang said simply. “< I found mine. >”
Edward nodded, wordlessly. He wasn’t sure he would be able to speak. Hell, he wasn’t even sure how he was standing. The Mustang must have noticed, because he simply nodded to Edward’s brother, indicated the heavy door beyond them.
“< [Honorary cadet], will you do the honors? >”
They exited the burning world with the same urgency they had come upon it. Alphonse and the Mustang pressed through the transmuted hole in the door like drowning creatures, coming to surface. Only Edward lingered behind, stumbled a little as he stepped out into the darkness. A different kind of darkness, with little pinpoints of light still visible overhead; true night, the first they had had in many, many years.
The ground hurt under his bare flesh foot and Edward lifted it; put it down, felt the strange pricks again. A plant-y scent wafted up where he’d crushed something, and then he recognized the offending little blades, that were not really blades at all.
Grass. Edward thought deliriously. I remember this.
They made it only as far as the vertical bars of the tree line - wooden bars, tree trunks; not the iron ones they were used to - before Edward collapsed. It wasn’t really that he was exhausted, so much. His legs simply ran out. Alphonse bounded back and snuffled at him as he lay, quivering, boneless, in the grass.
“< Niisan? >”
“< It’s okay. >” He said numbly. And it was. They had made it out, been delivered. His brother was safe.
Nothing else mattered.
“< Go on. >” He urged. “< We’re still in the open. >”
“< Niisan… >” Alphonse whined, deeply unhappy.
“< Al, I can’t run. >” He admitted, whimpered. Swallowed hard. “< I can’t walk. Can’t... Just go on! They’ll catch you! Leave me here. >”
His brother was adamant. “< I’m not going without you. >”
“< AL! >”
Ahead, the Mustang paused, turned around. Started heading back. Edward couldn’t take it anymore.
“< Not you TOO! >” Edward snarled. “< Dammit, you idiots, GO! >”
“< Nonsense. >” The Mustang said. “< Why would I do a thing like that? >”
It moved closer, towered over him. He hissed and bared his teeth to it, but it did not look away.
“< You are part of the [pack] now. >” The Mustang intoned. Cleared its throat, and looked up at Alphonse, who was staring.
“< You are…fami-ry. >” It tried again, in Elric. “< And I don’t know how you things define it, but we Mustangs…we take care of our fami-ry. >”
“< …pronunciation’s awful. >” Edward snorted. His eyes closed. “< But yeah, I think you got the meaning right. >”
“< Yeah. >” Alphonse echoed softly, reached down to stroke his cheek.
The Mustang sauntered forward and crouched, touched him briefly on his uninjured shoulder. Alphonse hunkered down on his other side and growled a bit, but did not launch or try to bite.
“< Rest. I will protect you. >” The Mustang said, to one or maybe both of them. “< And we can fight about that in the morning. >”
The Mustang bent down and licked the sweat from his brow, and Edward let him.
Epilogue:
On September 30th, acting on a tip from a plea-bargaining witness, the vice squad successfully raided an underground gambling establishment known colloquially as the “Devil’s Nest”. The sting netted many key operators in an organization believed to belong to one Gerald “Greed” Grayson. The complex, part of the former Grayson lumber mill, was found to contain many types of contraband, including narcotics, opiates, and semi-automatic firearms alleged to be of Drachman make. The military is investigating.
During the raid, the main warehouse, which contained a manmade pit allegedly used for illegal Elric fighting, caught fire, forcing authorities to make a temporary retreat. An animal control unit, in cooperation with T.E.R.N (The Elric Rescue Network) was on hand to deal with the recovery of the animals from the shell of the building. Though some creatures were saved, many others died from severe smoke inhalation before firefighters could reach them. The source of the fire is, as of press time, unknown.
One group of animals, which had apparently escaped during the confusion, was found outside near the tree line. Authorities tranquilized and recovered an adult Mustang and a Alphonse youth, both apparently defending a rare, severely injured automail-variant Edward. All three have been transported to the Greeson Elric hospital for treatment, where the Edward remains in critical, but stable condition.
His caretakers have dubbed him ‘Fullmetal’.
~ end of ‘firebrand’; to be continued in ‘icebane’~
I mean, come on, it's zoofic :) It's already silly.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight, First Half
Chapter Eight, Second Half
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
The two combatants skidded to a halt near the side of the world (wall, Edward’s mind whispered for the first time). The Envy screamed and clawed, but hell hath no fury like an Alphonse enraged.
“< LEAVE - >” A punch. “< MY - >” Another punch. “< BROTHER - >” A kick. “< ALONE. >” Alphonse was on top of it, not caring that its claws were getting him; Edward nearly screamed to see the blood dripping from his sibling’s side.
The Envy scrabbled to get out from under the crazed Elric but Alphonse only followed it; leapt forward and received a frantic kick for his efforts. The Envy bent backwards and flipped end over end, landed on its feet and shifted nervously.
Alphonse was breathing heavily, but his bared teeth spoke volumes. Above them, the humans were crying, screaming, jibbering. Edward ignored them, focused only on his brother.
“< Your fight is with me. >” Alphonse snarled, and before the Envy even finished evaluating whether he was a threat or not, he attacked.
“< The hell it is! >” The Envy gasped, and wheeled around to kick his brother in the side. Alphonse whirled and just snapped his teeth at the retreating limb, howled when a fist followed and knocked his head back.
Edward groaned. Alphonse was a good fighter, but it had been many weeks since he’d really even practiced, and he was giving up much, much too much ground in favor of angry, emotion-clouded offensives. Alphonse didn’t even seem to notice that the other beast was raking the hell out of his flanks, because he was too busy driving into its chest with fists. He didn’t even seem to be feeling it.
He’s going to get himself killed. Edward realized with a cold sort of impartiality. Al is going to charge in wrong and it’s going to have its arm out, and it’s going to flip him over and sink its fangs into his jugular.
He couldn’t let that happen.
He tried to rise again and the pain was immediate, but at least he could still move his right ankle. Only bruised then, he hoped. More problematic was his right shoulder, strangely numb around the area next to his automail port. He couldn’t raise his automail over his head, it lost strength about halfway up. He hissed in frustration and brought his hands together to shorten his blade, make it easier to get at his palms. Alchemy it would have to be.
The humans exploded into fits as Alphonse tore down the side of the Envy’s leg, earned a kick that sent him sailing into the wall, left him momentarily stunned. Edward swallowed. It was now or never.
“< Hey you! >” He called, waved his blade horizontally toward the Envy. “< Yeah, you! Over here! >”
The Envy whipped its head around and roared, a deep, alien sound that made Edward’s legs turn to water. One of them, at least. The other was metal, couldn’t feel anything; that was all that kept him standing.
“< I’m not done with you yet! >” Edward called, put all his energy into just standing still. His palms itched. Wanted to summon his canon. But he couldn’t risk hurting Alphonse; had to get it up close, had to make sure there
“< Motherfucker! >” The Envy rumbled, and without fanfare or elegance, turned and charged toward him.
In the background Alphonse recovered his breath, promptly spent it.
“< NIISAN! >”
One good transmutation. That’s all he needed. And that’s all he would get. He took a deep breath, reached within himself, and brought his palms together.
Fifteen paces…ten paces…it was almost on top of him…
Edward slammed his hands to the earth, and threw everything he had out into spikes.
The ground in front of him spiraled up and exploded, birthed a forest of sharp edges, thick, thicker than he had ever summoned before. The Envy shrieked as the earth beneath it roiled; leapt to one side and the transmutation followed it, tips of new spikes tearing its feet into ribbons, slashed the sides of its legs. Screaming, it jacked backwards, forwards, this way and that-
And then pushed hard with its hands, flipped over it all, and smashed into Edward’s chest like a train.
Pain exploded through his shoulder and Edward skidded back, on his ass; white spots invaded his vision as the creature jumped and straddled him, held his hips down so he could not possibly right himself. The smell of its blood was all over him, drowned him, but there was nothing comforting in the way it filled his nose. It had one, bloodied, hand on his flesh arm, and he could not bring his palms together.
He was going to die.
“< I’ll ask you one more time. >” The Envy screamed. Spittle flew into his right eye and Edward closed it reflexively, left his left alone with the tear-blurred shape of his enemy.
Al…please, be running. Please, just run…
“< Where is your bastard mate? WHERE IS MY FATHER!? >”
“< I d-don’t know… >” He coughed weakly. “< I don’t h-have a mate. I don’t k-know your f-father. >”
The Envy howled and tore at the earth with its claws; whether in madness or disappointment, Edward did not know. It drew back its free hand.
Edward closed his other eye.
“< Then. >” The Envy said simply. “< You die. >”
Fire split the sky, and its fury was so bright he could see it through his eyelids.
The Envy shrieked and spasmed forward, raked across the back by the claws of a heat that no living thing had ever known, no fireplace had born witness to. In all the rest of his days he would never forget the smell of it, the horrible reek of burning hair and flesh instantaneously cooked. The flames were so hot that Edward could feel his hair singeing from where he lay on the ground, and his exposed flesh reddened, blistered.
The light winked out just as suddenly as it had come, and the Envy’s eyes rolled back in its head; its whole body toppling forward and pinning him to earth. Its bushy hair was still smoldering.
Edward didn’t even have time to start clawing at it. A second light rose almost immediately afterward, and his spike-forest shattered to give way to Alphonse, woozy and walking in diagonals. His sibling wobbled toward them, unsteady; collapsed upon his knee, and quite casually rolled the Envy off and tore what was left of its throat out.
“< Al… >” He swallowed, not sure what else to say.
“< Just making sure. >” His brother smiled at him, blood dripping merrily from his fangs. Edward shivered. “< Are you alright? I feel kind of dizzy. >”
“< Did you hit your head?! >” Edward yelped. He had seen the way the Envy had thrown his sibling into the wall. Alphonse’s sides were still oozing too, but the wounds he could see were darkening, clotted.
“< Only a little. But Niisan…that fire… >”
Edward nodded. “< The Mustang… >” He breathed.
The perfect circle of light above them suddenly wobbled crazily, blinked dark shadows everywhere. Alphonse crouched down and hissed, staring skyward; Edward tilted his head back and joined in the stare. The humans were babbling, shouting in insane cacophony; far off, he thought he heard a high voice scream.
One of the suns, two, three, fizzled and went out. Out of the void where they had been, Edward thought he made out a shock of black hair, and the faintest hint of blue.
“< Niisan. >” Alphonse gasped. There were figures struggling up there…shouting…the dark-haired one slid further into view, thrashed a blue-pelted arm out to try and keep itself from tilting.
From what no longer seemed like the sky at all, a large box teetered and fell to the ground.
“< That’s the Mustang… >” Alphonse whimpered, buried his face into his sibling’s shoulder. “< Niisan, I’m seeing things, please help me, it’s flying… >”
Edward closed his eyes and shivered, remembered what the Mustang had told him, about the worlds that existed outside of worlds, the skies that could swallow even the largest sky he knew. About looking down from the clouds with their owner at the fighting, that the suns were just boxes, quite small from the back…
Remembered his earlier wall, high enough to block out the light from those suns…
“< Al. >” He gasped. “< Help me. >”
“< What? >”
“< I need to make a new kind of wall. >”
He reached out to his brother with his one good arm, and they made a circle with each other.
They almost didn’t make it in time. The Mustang fell just as their artificial hill began to rise, dropped several feet before the slope made it up to him. It hit the transmuted earth hard and rolled down on its side, arms flopping about, spin completely uncontrolled. It came upon level, normal dirt and skidded, came to a stop mere paces away.
It didn’t move.
Edward rose and scrambled to its side on two legs and one arm; Alphonse followed, a little steadier now. Edward knelt beside the Mustang and snuffled, noted the sweat around its cheeks and the trembling of its eyelashes. The silver collar was pulled up tight around its throat, left an angry red ring both above and below.
“< I don’t think it can breathe. >” Alphonse said worriedly.
His shoulder was agony, but Edward managed to move his automail forward and clap his hands together. He touched his finger to the chain, and luckily, luckily could feel his way to unraveling it.
The chain fell away and the response was immediate; the Mustang arched and sucked at the air. Its lungs made a sharp, sharp rattling sound like a pebble trapped.
“< Hey…hey, you alright? >” Edward said, snuffled at it, concerned.
“< Elric… >” The Mustang said weakly, could say nothing more than that.
The humans were in a panic, screaming things, throwing things. Bottles hit the ground around them, exploded; Edward tried to bring up a shield and failed entirely. So…tired… He waved blindly toward his littermate.
“< Al, can you - >”
“< Yes. >” His brother brought his palms together and brought a serviceable, if lop-sided, wall around the three of them. Edward wondered in concern if his sibling’s brains had been scrambled or something. He had seen that happen to a Havoc he hit, once.
“< We don’t have…much time… >” The Mustang rasped. “< They’ll be coming…to finish it… >”
“< What did you do? >” Edward hissed. “< Mustang, that fire… >”
“< [Tactical loss]. >” The Mustang gasped. “< They had the whole thing planned… >” A ragged whistle as it tried to draw more air from its bruised, already purpling throat. “< My owner. The Envy-tooth. They wanted it to eat you. So your brother would armorize… >”
Alphonse tittered, pressed his nose hard into the side of Edward’s neck. “< Oh, niisan… >”
“< Only got off one shot - went for my hands - started choking me - had to get away - >” The Mustang finished, and rolled onto its side so it could start coughing its lunch up. Edward looked down and its hands, and saw the ripped ruin of what must have been its glove.
“< Stupid bastard. >” He growled, but reached forward to hold its head back.You wasted your one shot for me.
A bottle crashed into the top of the low part of their barricade, shattered; fire-water splashed down and pelted Alphonse, made their hiding place smell sour and nasty. His brother squeaked and he shook his mane at the offending reek, but really, what could he do? The lightning boxes would be coming soon, and he was trapped with an arm that didn’t work, a dizzy, bleeding littermate, and a completely useless Mustang. The best he had was his alchemy, but he was really only good for one, maybe two more transmutations, max. And if the adrenaline wore off anytime soon, he wasn’t at all sure he’d even be able to do that.
Great. Just great. He slumped against his sibling and panted, bone-weary, tried not to think about how much his shoulder hurt. His mind raced in circles, chased its own tail; but never, never caught onto a solution.
And then suddenly the quality of the screams gave way to a different sort of excitement, confused; the humans no longer threw bottles or any other projectiles. Edward kept waiting to hear the crunch of handler footsteps, but all he heard was a symphony of panic. Something popped, loud and distant, and Edward nearly jumped out of his skin, sent a fresh burst of pain through his damaged shoulder.
“< …I don’t think they’re coming. >” Alphonse said, after a time.
They waited a little longer before his brother cautioned to make a hole in the shield, took a glance outside. Edward growled at the perceived blow to his dominance - he should be taking risks, not his brother! - but his sibling wouldn’t listen to him, went ahead and did his job anyways. He seemed to be steadier, but Edward still didn’t trust it. The scent of blood was still fierce on his poor sibling’s side; he could not be too careful.
“< Niisan, I…I don’t see anyone. >” His brother reported, puzzled. “< Something…something weird is happening. Up There. >”
“< I figured. >” The Mustang said hoarsely. He was slowly sitting up. “< I thought I heard gunshots. >”
“< …me, too. >” Edward admitted, unhappy. “< Do you think there’s a Hawkeye? >”
“< Not…likely. >” The Mustang winced. It sounded like it hurt to talk, but its voice was stronger, at least. “< Didn’t see one. >”
“< Well? >” Alphonse asked, after a time. “< What now? >”
The Mustang smiled, a crooked sort of expression.
“< We do the only thing we can do. We go up, out, and over. >”
They had to join hands and enlarge their hill a bit further to make it up to the suns, and it took everything Edward had not to just fall forward after the whole thing was done.
“< You alright, Elric? >” The Mustang asked, placed an unwelcome hand on the crook of his automail elbow. Alphonse was there too, making a worried noise; he hated them both, momentarily.
“< You look - >”
“< Shut up. >” He glared daggers at both of them, shook himself lightly. “< I know what I look like. >” In the last stages of exhaustion, he could feel the froth gathering at the corners of his lips.
Just a little further. His brother was counting on him. Get his brother to the edge, then Alphonse could climb over, and he…and he…
“< Niisan… >” Alphonse clapped his hands, and then there was a flash of light, and the earth swelled beneath him, and lifted them all the rest of the way to the edge of the sky.
The scene they emerged to was chaos. At first, he could make out nothing but purple spots - too close to the suns; they did not burn the way he thought they should, but their light was still far, far too bright for his eyes - and the vaguest impression of movement, ducked his head down and inhaled, tried to feel with his nose. They were at the cusp of somewhere, he could sense; filled with the thick scent of human, fear, fire-water, and gun smoke. Beyond the ends of the universe, and there was no telling what they would find.
The steady pop-pop of gunfire rang out again, close overhead, and he crawled forward, low, on three limbs.
“< Come ON! >” He hissed, only to find Alphonse was already ahead of him, climbing over a low lip of wall. He followed, gingerly, bit back a whimper as he dropped down onto his sprained foot. His shoulder had long since gone numb, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The Mustang was nowhere in sight.
Behind the glare of the suns now, his vision began to resolve, and he snarled, crouched down low against the wall. Humans fighting humans. Hiding behind tables, holding guns, just like Hawkeyes. Utter insanity. One of them was crouched just a few feet away from his brother, and he warbled a warning.
“< Al, look out! >”
It started, swung its gun barrel round, but his brother was on it before it could fire. A burst of transmutation, and a minor earthquake erupted, knocked the human flat on its ass. Alphonse loped forward and cuffed it, and its head cracked back against a chair and made a sound like a ripe melon squashed. It did not move anymore after that.
“< This ground is strange. >” Alphonse said. “< I can’t figure out how to take it apart. >”
Edward panted, vision winked in and out crazily. Too much stress. Too much noise. Alphonse scurried back to his side and nuzzled him, whined inquisitively.
“< Yeah. >” He panted. “< Give me a sec. >” So…tired…
“< Brother, I smell smoke. >” Alphonse said, pointed upwards. Edward inhaled, agreed; more than just gun smoke, this was thick, cloying. He wasn’t sure if it was the Mustang’s fault or not. He wondered if it was okay.
“< We have to keep moving. >” Alphonse said, started crawling away, and what could he do but crawl after? His heart was pounding in his head, too loud for him to think. Alphonse had the sense to stay down, away from the gun fire; Edward did the hardest thing he had ever done, and trusted to his littermate’s senses. So hard just to breathe…
One knee, then the other, then his shaking, flesh arm. Whole body was shaking. Where were they going? Where were they…
“DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” A piercing shriek proclaimed, and Alphonse howled right back at it. Edward could only roll his eyes in anguish. “WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!”
A thick burst of gunfire exploded to their right, and his brother yelped, hit the ground just in front of him.
“< AL!? >”
“< It’s alright, I’m okay! Just missed me. >”
His heart was going to beat its way out of his chest.
“< Al, where are you going? What’s going on?! >” Humans were everywhere, their fear-stink, their blood overwhelmed him.
“< I smell fresh air. >” Was all Alphonse would say. “< This way. >”
They hit a wall, turned, crept achingly along it. Edward’s shoulder was no longer so numb, it was screaming; legs were screaming, he just wanted to stop and rest… No. Couldn’t stop, had to keep moving. If he stopped, he would likely never start again.
The smoke was thicker now, and the humans rushing about were like shadows of giants, heads lost in the fog. Edward hissed. Didn’t they know to keep their noses to the ground, where the air was still sweet? Alphonse warbled, and then he felt it too - the sweet, in-rush of air from somewhere where air was still sweet. They rounded a corner, swept into the mouth of a corridor with cold air rushing down it -
“Hello, boys.” A familiar voice hissed, and something large and dark unfolded itself above them.
Their owner.
Alphonse almost leapt instinctively, but Edward threw his flesh arm out; their master was alone, but he was not without protection. A large, long gun rested in its large hands, was already pointed outward. At this range, it would blow his brother’s skull free from his neck.
“Fucking pigs.” The human hissed, inexplicably. “Got the drop on us-EAT SHIT AND DIE!” He screamed, aimed somewhere over their heads, and pulled the trigger. There was sound, and then absence of all sound, nothing but ringing for several long heartbeats.
“-and he fucking ratted.” His owner was saying, reloading by the time their ears had cleared enough to register. “Figures.”
The smell of smoke was thicker; heat was rising, too. The human coughed, and his grip on the weapon slipped - just a bit. Edward’s eyes narrowed.
“You’re a good boy, aren’t you?” His owner asked quietly, turned his gun barrel ever so slightly. “You know there are bad men out there, trying to hurt Daddy?” He indicated the chaos, smoke, screaming shadows just out ahead of them. “You can go hurt them, can’t you.”
“Do this for Daddy, will you?” He wheedled. “Please, Daddy needs you. And if you don’t…” He turned the barrel of the gun ever so slightly toward Alphonse.
Edward nodded slowly, scooted hesitantly backward. He needed no further incentive. Alphonse backed with him, whimpered. Edward continued shuffling, hobbling until Alphonse was exposed, completely out of the corridor.
“< Al. >” He whispered, drew deep upon the last ounce of strength that he had. “< When I move, duck right, behind the wall. >”
“< Niisan- >”
“< Now! >” With everything he had, he brought his flesh palm to his steel one, and brought out his blade. Alphonse jumped to the right, and the Envy-tooth jerked his gun up--
Edward bowed his head in the ways of human submission, and shakily, made as if he were turning to the side.
“< Yes, master. >” He simpered, in the same volume and timber that the Mustang had always used. “< Yes master, I will be good. >”
His owner smiled, and he saw with insane, insane delight that he was missing one of those hideous teeth.
“< There, that’s a good boy…go out and fight for Daddy… >”
Edward coiled his legs beneath him, and realized perhaps that it would be the last thing he ever did.
“< You will never be my father! >” He snarled, picked up his metal arm in his flesh one, and sprang into the air, aimed his blade straight for the bastard’s heart.
It didn’t quite make it. But that was alright, because his blade still sliced true, and the next thing he knew he was one with the human’s middle, and falling, showering in its blood.
They hit the ground hard and pain blossomed up through his body; the blade hit floor through the human’s torso and reverberated back at him. If he’d had breath for it, he would have howled. Dimly, in a haze, he looked up toward the Envy-tooth’s writhing lips. He half-expected his owner to praise him for finally making a good, solid kill.
His owner only made a single, wet gasping noise. A bubble of blood welled up and exploded, and it did not seem like the human would be making any other noises, ever again.
“< Niisan? >”
Edward sagged. His shoulder was agony, his shoulder was fire, and when his owner finally shuddered and spasmed his last, the pain spiraled upward, and the whole world went white.
He must have passed out, for a time. He was next aware of his brother tugging at him, pulling his body up and then out, and he was in a whole new world of pain as his brother wormed his way beneath his good arm.
“< Al…? >” Tried to arch his head, nuzzle his sibling; Alphonse hissed and jerked back.
“< We’re being watched. >” He said, and jacked his head over his shoulder.
Edward tilted his head, bleary. The Mustang was standing there, a queer look on his face. It was almost impossible to see, through the smoke - through the flames! - behind it, but a few things he could tell. Its skin had turned gray, for some reason; pelt had gone gray as well. Time seemed extremely unkind, all of a sudden.
On the back of its hand, in the space where its pelt--glove had been, was a small circle drawn in blood.
Edward swallowed, pulled away from his sibling. No. Not gray skin.
It was covered in ashes.
“< Did you find your prey? >” The Mustang said simply. “< I found mine. >”
Edward nodded, wordlessly. He wasn’t sure he would be able to speak. Hell, he wasn’t even sure how he was standing. The Mustang must have noticed, because he simply nodded to Edward’s brother, indicated the heavy door beyond them.
“< [Honorary cadet], will you do the honors? >”
They exited the burning world with the same urgency they had come upon it. Alphonse and the Mustang pressed through the transmuted hole in the door like drowning creatures, coming to surface. Only Edward lingered behind, stumbled a little as he stepped out into the darkness. A different kind of darkness, with little pinpoints of light still visible overhead; true night, the first they had had in many, many years.
The ground hurt under his bare flesh foot and Edward lifted it; put it down, felt the strange pricks again. A plant-y scent wafted up where he’d crushed something, and then he recognized the offending little blades, that were not really blades at all.
Grass. Edward thought deliriously. I remember this.
They made it only as far as the vertical bars of the tree line - wooden bars, tree trunks; not the iron ones they were used to - before Edward collapsed. It wasn’t really that he was exhausted, so much. His legs simply ran out. Alphonse bounded back and snuffled at him as he lay, quivering, boneless, in the grass.
“< Niisan? >”
“< It’s okay. >” He said numbly. And it was. They had made it out, been delivered. His brother was safe.
Nothing else mattered.
“< Go on. >” He urged. “< We’re still in the open. >”
“< Niisan… >” Alphonse whined, deeply unhappy.
“< Al, I can’t run. >” He admitted, whimpered. Swallowed hard. “< I can’t walk. Can’t... Just go on! They’ll catch you! Leave me here. >”
His brother was adamant. “< I’m not going without you. >”
“< AL! >”
Ahead, the Mustang paused, turned around. Started heading back. Edward couldn’t take it anymore.
“< Not you TOO! >” Edward snarled. “< Dammit, you idiots, GO! >”
“< Nonsense. >” The Mustang said. “< Why would I do a thing like that? >”
It moved closer, towered over him. He hissed and bared his teeth to it, but it did not look away.
“< You are part of the [pack] now. >” The Mustang intoned. Cleared its throat, and looked up at Alphonse, who was staring.
“< You are…fami-ry. >” It tried again, in Elric. “< And I don’t know how you things define it, but we Mustangs…we take care of our fami-ry. >”
“< …pronunciation’s awful. >” Edward snorted. His eyes closed. “< But yeah, I think you got the meaning right. >”
“< Yeah. >” Alphonse echoed softly, reached down to stroke his cheek.
The Mustang sauntered forward and crouched, touched him briefly on his uninjured shoulder. Alphonse hunkered down on his other side and growled a bit, but did not launch or try to bite.
“< Rest. I will protect you. >” The Mustang said, to one or maybe both of them. “< And we can fight about that in the morning. >”
The Mustang bent down and licked the sweat from his brow, and Edward let him.
Epilogue:
On September 30th, acting on a tip from a plea-bargaining witness, the vice squad successfully raided an underground gambling establishment known colloquially as the “Devil’s Nest”. The sting netted many key operators in an organization believed to belong to one Gerald “Greed” Grayson. The complex, part of the former Grayson lumber mill, was found to contain many types of contraband, including narcotics, opiates, and semi-automatic firearms alleged to be of Drachman make. The military is investigating.
During the raid, the main warehouse, which contained a manmade pit allegedly used for illegal Elric fighting, caught fire, forcing authorities to make a temporary retreat. An animal control unit, in cooperation with T.E.R.N (The Elric Rescue Network) was on hand to deal with the recovery of the animals from the shell of the building. Though some creatures were saved, many others died from severe smoke inhalation before firefighters could reach them. The source of the fire is, as of press time, unknown.
One group of animals, which had apparently escaped during the confusion, was found outside near the tree line. Authorities tranquilized and recovered an adult Mustang and a Alphonse youth, both apparently defending a rare, severely injured automail-variant Edward. All three have been transported to the Greeson Elric hospital for treatment, where the Edward remains in critical, but stable condition.
His caretakers have dubbed him ‘Fullmetal’.
~ end of ‘firebrand’; to be continued in ‘icebane’~