The man sat alone, staring down the side of the deserted mountain temple, the wind whipping at his hair and face. Humans will always be the same, won't they? The very state of the temple proved that fact to him. Humans won't ever stop fighting, no matter what.
One hundred years. A hundred years of war. If that didn't prove anything, he didn't know what would.
He laughed humorlessly. He was beginning to think like the Homunculi, wasn't he?
Golden eyes darkened slightly. Everyone... Both old and new friends... They were all gone. Dead. Even his little brother...
"Al..." He whispered slightly, a tear slipping out of his eye. "I'm sorry..."
He wouldn't ever forgive himself. It was his fault, that his country fell in just one night. Just like Xerxes. He snorted lightly to himself. Just like father like son, as most people would say.
It was amazing that he hadn't gone mad, after all these endless years of torture. He could hear them, screaming in agony in his head everytime he closed his eyes.
He deserved it, that was his thinking every waking moment of his life. He deserved the pain he was in. He had no right to wish for happiness in death.
All those years ago, before that fateful day, he always wished for a nice quiet life, away from all the hardships. Yeah, he'd just go back and become a farmer, or something, maybe a traveler, or a researcher.
It should have been that simple, right?
Of course not.
After all, the universe could be a bastard at times.
The first time the universe decided to screw with him -on it's own accord without him provoking it- was when he gained the curse of immortality. Why people would wish for this, he had no idea. Why would anyone want something that played on your sanity every waking minute? Watching your loved ones grow old and die while you outlived them, what could be more torturous than that? That day he saw his little brother die, was the day he lost a part of himself.
The second time the universe screwed with him, was when he watched an entire race burn. He was there, and yet he couldn't do a single damn thing, no matter how hard he tried. It was like the eradication of the Ishbalans again, which took place countless years ago.
The Air Nomads burned, as he watched the Fire Nation storm the temple, looking for a twelve year old boy.
He had met him before, and the first thought he had upon meeting that kid, was that he was in no way, shape or size ready to be the world's saviour, the Avatar.
Children shouldn't be forced to bear such a burden, he thought, a humorless smile slipping onto his face. Of course, he would know. After all, he joined the military when he was twelve, hadn't he? He lost his childhood when he was eleven, and allowed more then fifty million people to die on his watch.
Reality was cruel, wasn't it?
That kid couldn't seem to take his burden. He lost everything he had, the moment he found out, and what normal boy wouldn't crack under the weight of their burden?
He ran away, and just a few weeks later, everything went to hell. War broke out, and the Air Nomads were annihilated, with the Avatar going missing.
He was just too late to save them. He's should have never left, even if it was for just a week, with the signs of war looming. He saw his friends burn to death, and for that, he'll never forgive himself, like he never did for what happened to Amestris.
Edward Elric closed his eyes, listening to the wind whip at his gold hair, reflecting on how his life had turned out.
He was all alone now, with everyone he knew gone. The Colonel, Hawkeye, Armstrong, Ling, Al, Winry...
Now that he thought about it, he never did get to tell Winry that he loved her, did he?
Staring off into the distance, he noticed a beam of blue light break through the clouds. Even from where he was, he could tell what it was. The Avatar had finally returned, after one hundred years of absence.
He smirked slightly. "Well Roku, your reincarnation is finally back in the game. I wonder if he'll remember his big brother."
Ed jumped to his feet, his smirk never leaving his face. "Aang... The world has changed much in your absence. How will you handle this unfamiliar world?"
He knew Aang would come back one day.
[A/N Alright, I really ought to just stick with one story, and finish it before I start another, but damn, my brain is just simply over flowing with ideas! And since I'm writing this, it probably should be a hint to my readers that yes, I'm still alive and my mom has not murdered me for my school grades. I'll still update the other stories, so yeah. Anyway, please tell me if you want me to continue this!
~ Gwntan12]