Eternity

{A Nightmare Come to Life}

By WhiteLightForever

She cried out in the night as her father's body fell to the floor. Blood seeped from his now mutilated head, creating a puddle that crept towards her feet. A tall man walked towards her and she backed towards the wall. Tears streamed down her face as she faced the man who had just murdered her entire family. She stared at the white X that marked his forehead.

"Why…" she whispered. "Why?"

"Because you are the greatest sinner. Because you insult all grace by existing. I shall remove this evil from the earth." He replied, raising his blood covered hand to her face. She yelled, recognizing this same technique that had just destroyed her parents.

Scar held his hand to her head and she screamed. But when he brought his hand away, all that remained was a small pool of blood on the floor. His eyes narrowed in anger, and he turned and left the small home.

Ed shot up. He looked around, panting. He was in his bed in the dorm room, and Al was lying in his bed sleeping. He clutched the blankets tightly and sighed in relief. It was all just a dream… But he could still hear the scream of the young girl resounding in his mind.

He got out of bed and walked shakily over to the window. The moon was full and shining brightly, casting a white light upon the earth. Central was quiet, surprisingly. Ed knew that his new guards would be waiting outside the doors. He groaned, annoyed with them. He wanted to go for a walk to clear his head. Coming up with an idea, he opened the window and started to climb down the brick wall. It was difficult, considering that he had metal fingers that didn't grip very well, but he managed.

Ed leaped onto the pavement and winced as the clatter of metal on ground echoed. He looked up, checking to make sure that the guards didn't stick their heads out the window. There was no doubt that Lieutenant Ross would be angry if she caught him.

"No sign of them," Ed whispered to himself, "Great."

Edward Elric walked down the empty streets of Central, staring at the ground. It was the fourth time he had had that dream this week. Questions lingered in his mind… why did he keep having it? What did it mean? Was it just some random nightmare, since Scar was constantly hunting him down? No, he thought, that's not it. I know it.

Suddenly Ed froze. He felt it… the same feeling that had existed in his dream…

A scream echoed in the night.

Ed bolted off, trying to find the source of the scream. He knew it was nearby, it sounded so close. He turned a corner and skidded to a halt. There lying in the middle of the road, was the girl in his dreams.

He walked up to her slowly, wondering if he was dreaming or not. He knelt down beside her and noticed that she was bleeding heavily. Ed gasped and had a flashback to when he found Al, after their fateful attempt at bringing their mother back from the dead. This girl looked young, but not as young as they had been…

He rolled her over and discovered a large gash in her head. "This must be where Scar hit her… but how did she get here?" he wondered aloud. But as soon as he finished talking, the girl's eyes flew open. She stared at him in terror.

"Don't touch me! You must leave me alone!" she cried.

"Wha-what-" Ed began.

But then a light came from the girl's eyes. Ed closed his eyes, nearly blinded from the spectacular light. He heard her whimper and opened his eyes when the light faded. Ed looked at where the girl would be in his arms, but was shocked to discover that she was no longer there. But he was no longer even in the streets of Central.

He was kneeling in the middle of a vast grassy field. There was still blood on his gloves from when he held her. He looked up and saw a clear blue sky. There was no sun, but it was bright as day there. Ed stood up and noticed that the girl was standing before him. She was completely healed. But tears glistened on her cheeks nonetheless.

"Welcome to Eternity," she whispered.