Immortal Brother Immortal Sin
Hi everyone. This is Ramen Alchemist Sora. As of right now, this is just a one shot. But if I get more then five or more reviews, I will right more.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in the Fullmetal Alchemist series.
Brigadier General Roy Mustang raised a fist slightly in front of his face, but hesitated to knock. How am I going to tell them, he thought as he remembered the gruesome scene in his mind. His stomach still contracted as he recalled the field of corpuses and the sea of blood.
He gazed at the bright yellow paneling that surrounded the oak door. The sun's reflection on the paint caused Roy's nausea to increase. Something so bright shouldn't exist right now, in his opinion.
His fist finally made contact with the door. He had hardly contemplated what he would say when the door revealed a young woman.
"General Mustang," she said, removing the red handkerchief tied around her head. "What brings you out here?"
"Unfortunately, Miss Rockbell, the war has," Mustang replied.
"The last time you said that, Edward became an active solider," Winry said, her face becoming serious.
"May I come in?" Mustang asked, knowing she didn't want to let him in or listen to what he had to say. However, she stepped aside and allowed him inside.
"Is Al here?" Mustang asked, lowering himself into a chair.
Winry nodded. "I'll go get him."
She left the room, causing Mustang's nerves to mount. Why the hell did I get so close to that kid? He asked himself. It's always the friends that have to…
"General! Hi!"
Mustang snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the fifteen-year-old boy who entered the room. At seeing the younger brother, Roy was reminded of the struggle the two of them had gone through to get Al back to fresh and blood. Simply looking at the boy made Roy want to lie to the two that now stood before him, but he knew that he must tell them what had happened.
He rose and saluted Al, the boy's face quickly changing to a look of confusion.
"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. Alphonse, last week, we were making our rounds around one of the battlefields. We didn't see the snipers up in the mountains and…" Mustang's voice caught in his throat. He couldn't say it. If it were said aloud, that would make it final.
"Edward's dead, isn't he?" Winry's meek voice inquired.
Mustang nodded, averting his attention from Al. "There will be a service in two weeks. Since he was a member of the military, the service will be in Central, but you may have him buried here. I'll just have"
"Shut up."
Mustang turned his attention to Al. This was what he'd been dreading. Al's reaction to his brother's death.
Al wasn't even looking at Mustang. His eyes had fallen to the floor and his entire body was shaking. "You're lying…you have to be…"
"Al," Mustang began.
"I said shut up! Ed can't die! He…He just cant!"
"Well, he is Alphonse."
"HOW CAN YOU JUST STAND THERE AND SAY THAT? DO YOU EVEN CARE?"
Before Mustang could respond, Winry had crossed the room and slapped Al across the face.
"Stop it, Al!" She yelled, her face moist with fresh tears. "Stop acting so damn selfish! You're the only one who doesn't want to believe it…"
Mustang watched as the youngest, and now only, Elric dropped to his knees.
"He promised, Winry…he promised me…he's got to come home," Al gasped as Winry wrapped her arms around his shaking shoulders.
Mustang watched as he shed a tear of his own for the Fullmetal Alchemist.
Al watched as several officers paid their respects to his older brother; many of them he didn't recognize. It frustrated Al that they'd come. They were only there because Ed was a superior officer.
Al felt his hand clench, tears welling up in his eyes. Despite the fact that he'd heard the story, saw the casket, even seen his lifeless body, there was no way Al could bring himself to believe it. He just couldn't be dead…
He felt Winry's hand on his fist. At her touch, he buried his face in her shoulder. Winry began to stroke his hair, squeezing him closer to her body.
He was grateful to Winry, even if he hated everyone around him at the moment. She had been able to convince Mustang to allow the service to take place in Resembool. It had been difficult to find a location, but the mayor had given them use of the town hall.
Al wanted to thank Winry; but for some reason, every time he tried to talk to someone, the words would catch in his throat and he would come close to vomiting. There were a few times that he would stay awake at night and force himself to throw up just so he could stop feeling sick.
"I wanted to thank everyone for attending today. The service will soon move to the Resembool Cemetery, where Edward will be buried. We encourage all of you to attend."
Al turned his attention from his black pants to General Mustang standing at the lectern. He couldn't help the hate that began to swell in his chest at the sight of the one who had watch his brother die. Wasn't there anything he could have done? Al thought as he gripped his jacket sleeves in anger.
"Before we leave, there are a few here that would like to say something on behalf of Edward." Mustang stepped down from the lectern and a second officer stepped foreword.
This was one of the soldiers Al recognized. She had a hair cut similar to that of a man's, save for the few strands of coffee colored hair that dangled in her color matching eyes. Her uniform was less decorated then the General's; nevertheless, she presented an air of authority that passed her rank by at least two bars.
Maria Ross reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny scrap of paper. After pressing it against the smooth surface, she cleared her throat and addressed the mourners.
"The first time I saw those two was in Central about six years ago. I made a mistake that probably many of you made. I believed that Alphonse was the older brother. Needless to say, Edward didn't respond too well to that."
There was an uneasy chuckle that rumbled slightly in the tiny room, which was quickly quieted by what sounded a key scratching the side of a new car.
The entire room's focused shifted to the young Elric as he turned from the crowed and headed for the door in the back of the room. He opened the door, crossed the threshold, and slammed it shut.
Al was probably by himself for about seven seconds before Winry stepped out to join him under the porch roof. He turned his gaze to the puddles forming on the ground and leaned with his arms outstretched on the railing that ran around the entire porch.
"Al?" Winry asked, placing a hand on Al's shoulder.
Al shook off the hand. He didn't even want Winry to touch him now. He didn't want anyone to be near him.
"Al, what's wrong?"
"Are you seriously asking me that question?" Al asked, keeping his eyes on the ground.
"Obviously I am. So tell me what you're thinking," Winry commanded.
"Why? No one cares," Al said, turning and leaning against the railing. A wild grin appeared on his face. "No one cares about the younger brother, no one cares what the younger brother wants, and no one cares that the younger brother is the only one who thinks this is a load of BULLSHIT!"
The last word he screamed into Winry's face. Her eyes grew wide with a look of dread.
"Alphonse, how can you say something like that? This is your brother's funeral."
"Is it? I hadn't noticed! This is only the second time I've had to look at the corpse of someone in my family!"
"Stop it! Why don't you tell me what the hell's really bothering you?" Winry shouted, tears falling from her eyes.
"He lied! The bastard lied to me!" Al screamed back, slamming his fist into the nearby wall at full force.
Winry looked at the once youngest Elric with confusion on her face.
"He promised me…" Al explained. "He told me…'I'll come back. I PROMISE!'"
"Al, things happen. You can't really expect that Edward would intentionally break that promise, do you?" Winry said, placing her hand on Al's trembling shoulder.
"I don't care anymore! He's just like Dad!" Al yelled, pushing past Winry.
Winry stood and painfully watch as Al ran from the building that held his last family member.
A small break in the clouds allowed the light of sunset to roll over the tiny headstones in the Resembool Cemetery. The officers raised their right arms in a unison salute as the casket was lowered into the freshly dug grave.
Winry inhaled deeply, hoping the breath she took would force her tears back down. She was torn between watching them bury Edward and running away like Al had done. She honestly wasn't surprised that he had left like that. The poor kid had been alone in his room ever since Mustang had told them about Ed dying. He wouldn't speak to anyone or eat much of anything.
"Have you seen Al?"
Winry hadn't noticed that the cemetery was starting to empty and that Mustang had walked up beside her. She shook her head, running a handkerchief across her eyes. "I'm getting a little nervous."
"Don't worry," Mustang said, placing a hand on her right shoulder. "He'll turn up. I'm sure."
Winry looked up at the young general to see him salute her and then walk out with the rest of the officers.
Winry turned her eyes back to the headstone that read:
Edward Elric
Strong leader and loving brother
"He use to have a theory."
Winry almost screamed as a voice reached her ears. She quickly scanned the cemetery until she caught sight of an old oak tree. There was a figure leaning against the tree. Based on the haircut, Winry could tell it was boy. He had his hands shoved in his pocket.
"Al?" she inquired timidly.
The figure didn't reply. Instead, he pushed himself off the tree with his right foot and continued as if Winry hadn't spoken.
"There was a transmutation circle with a heptagon circumscribed in the center. The theory was that if you use that amount of power in a circle, then equivalency would be taken care of."
As he stepped into the light, Winry could see that it was Al; however, she'd never seen Al looking so weary or worn. His hair was sticking up in every direction and he was squinting against the sunlight. Mud was splattered on every inch of his skin and covered his funeral ware as well.
"Al, where have you been? What are you talking about?" Winry didn't wait for a reply as she grabbed Al by the elbow and tried to pull him away. "Come on. Let's get you cleaned up."
"Don't you get it?" Al asked, impatiently. He looked at Winry with a stare that reminded her of the day Edward made his decision to join the military.
"I'm going to bring Brother back."