Scars to Remind Us
This is my second one-shot. Beware, slightly violent and if you have a weak stomach or what-not, I suggest not reading.
It's slightly OOC (actually, it's REALLY out of character), but it's aghast so it has to be slightly, right?
So, beware of:
1.) Violence
2.) Aghast
3.) Murder/Suicide
4.) OOC (Out-of-character-ness)
5.) Possibly overdramatic.
So basically…an aghast story!
Whoo!
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I'm sorry Al…you'll have to go on without me." Ed whispered, closing his eyes slowly with a sad and empty smile. He had been brought to his knees by know, making him feel pathetically humble. His head was bent downwards as Alphonse stared in horror.
"No! Don't!" Scar ignored Alphonse's pleas as he strode forward and Alphonse could do nothing but watch. After all, his armor had been shattered from the previous struggle.
"You have made the right decision, FullMetal Alchemist." Scar said, pulling his sleeve up to reveal his infamous transmutation circle.
"Just spare Al, that's all I ask." Ed said, never lifting his eyelids to glance at Al. Never daring to have one last look at his brother.
Alphonse continued to shout for Ed, but his desperate pleas fell upon deaf ears as Scar placed his hand on Ed's forehead.
"May God forgive you for your sins and guide you safely through your afterlife." Scar prayed. His arm started to glow menacingly, the black marks of the transmutation circle turning crimson.
"BROTHER!" Alphonse screamed.
During their long journey, Al had been left to ponder through the endless nights. And out of every gruesome thought he had imagined to prepare him for the deaths bound to come along with their search for the Philosopher's Stone, he had never pictured something as horrifying as the scene playing in front of him.
Ed's eyes had finally opened, yet were no longer a shining honey color, alight with determination and life. No, his eyes were lifelessly dull, like gold that had been left to collect dust for years and years. Alphonse might have been better off if his brother's eyes had stayed closed, but Ed must have decided a moment too late to try and look at Alphonse one last time only to die as his eyelids lifted.
Ed's pupils dilated a moment, cutting deeper into Al's distraught. After a few more seconds that seemed like years, Alphonse watched in slow motion as Ed's eyes rolled to the back of his head so only the whites of his eyes were revealed.
Crimson had splattered up Scar's arm and onto the concrete ally floor, painting it like a morbid nightmare. Blood gushed out of Alphonse's only beloved brother, his brain reduced to a giant puddle of blood.
Ed's good arm was limp at his side, his automail having been shattered into pieces and scattered around them. A stream of blood dribbled down his chin from his mouth.
Ed fell backwards, his legs still folded. He landed with a hard thump, but the noise was drowned out by the new downpour of rain.
"…b-brother…?" Alphonse whispered hoarsely, the lights representing his eyes widening a considerable amount.
"He's on his way. Now he lies in God's forgiving hands." Scar said, staring down at his newest victim. Even he, the one who had been trying to long to kill this one State Alchemist that eluded him for so long, felt his heart strings twitch slightly at the sight.
Ed looked so small and fragile at the moment, like a normal child that just wanted to hang out with his brother and pursue his dreams.
He looked so helpless.
Silence took over, the rain unheard by the two who stood staring at what remained of Edward Elric.
"No…brother can't be dead…" Alphonse whispered. "He…he can't die….it's just not possible!" Al's remaining hand curled into a fist as he supported his remaining half. "EDWARD CAN'T DIE!"
Scar ignored Al as he gently unfolded Ed's legs from under him. He then used two fingers to close the older Elric's eyelids.
It only pained Al more.
Now, besides the blood ad shattered automail, Ed looked as if he might be sleeping.
As if this was all a nightmare.
Alphonse shook his head violently. "BRING HIM BACK!" he screamed out at Scar, pounding his fist on the concrete.
"You know better then almost anyone that what you're asking is an impossible task." Scar replied, slowly turning away from the two, tormented brothers. "Be glad that you were spared and that your brother died for your sake."
"He promised to help get my body back no matter what…and I was going to get his limbs fixed…."
"He lived up to his promise and gave his life so that you may continue your quest to get your body returned to you. Is that not what the great FullMetal Alchemist would want for his brother?" with that, Scar slowly started to walk away.
The lights known as Al's eyes were no longer wide but completely absent. He looked as if he might have been dropped in the middle of the ally as broken trash, which is just about how he felt.
He was in shock, so many emotions overwhelming him at once. He wanted to scream out, but something kept him silent. He wanted to bring his brother back, but he knew the price and his armor was too damaged anyways.
"…you killed my brother." he stated towards the retreating Scar, his voice sounding feeble and inaudible. Something seemed to click in his mind, a feeling that was rare for the tender hearted alchemist. An emotion he had used only barely.
He hated this man. He despised him, loathed him. The thought of him made Alphonse absolutely furious and sick.
Scar was eventually gone, and police lights were coming from the opposite in which Edward's murderer had left. As someone noticed the scene and started coming to see what had happened, Alphonse whispered a vow.
"You'll pay, I'll make sure of it." luckily, this vow had been drowned out by the pounding of rain and police sirens as Mustang and Hawkeye ran up to the scene, stopping dead in their tracks at the gruesome picture in front of them.
"Oh God no…" Roy said, covering his mouth as if he was going to through up. Riza tried to hide her disgust, but her stomach was ready to give in from both shock and horror.
"Riza…." Roy whispered, his eyes drifting away from the revolting scene of his subordinate's death to the scraps of metal Alphonse now was.
"Report back that….." Roy took in a deep, shaking breath, his voice nearly cracking. He never thought this was possible. Whenever he heard the name "Edward Elric", he pictured a stubborn boy who wouldn't give up. Who never died.
"….report back that Edward Elric, the FullMetal Alchemist….is dead." he said. Riza closed her eyes, giving a weak salute before briskly walking back to the police cars. She made sure no one could she how hard she was crying.
Roy stared at Alphonse in worry, and Alphonse exchanged no words in return.
---
When Alphonse had been fixed, he was to be sent to the Rockbells for the sake of getting over the trauma. It had been around three days after Ed's funeral, in which Alphonse had only briefly been present.
A lot of people believed that Alphonse would be scarred for life, that the tender hearted, bodiless boy was shattered for good.
But of course, they were only half right.
"Can you please postpone my trip, Colonel?" Al asked, stunning the black haired man slightly. "I need to stay a little while longer, it's important."
"What's important?" Mustang asked curiously.
"I want….to stay with brother a little while longer." Alphonse said. It was silent until Mustang gave a small nod, letting Alphonse leave his office.
However, Alphonse had become a good liar in a short time and had tested his new found skill on Roy as he left HQ. He did in fact go towards the cemetery, but not alone. He walked with a few deadly weapons clanking inside his armor and safely hidden from prying eyes.
He wouldn't be spending time with his brother more then with his killer.
---
"Hey Al." Winry said, her voice attempting to sound cheerful only to result in pity. Her eyes were red and puffy from recent crying, but she was careful not to let her voice crack. "Come inside."
"Thanks Winry." Al said, ducking under the doorframe and into the house. There was a brief silence as they stood in the room.
"Alphonse?" Winry asked, spotting something on his armor, or more rather dripping a little from his armor. "What's that?"
She pointed to a small, thread thin river of red. Alphonse quickly wiped it away.
"Sorry, I had to pretend to drink wine while on first class on the train, some other guests offered it to me." he said. "I'll go clean up."
Winry watched as he left before letting a few more tears fall from her eyes. She had little time for mourning, however, before the phone rang.
"Can you get that Winry?" Pinako called out from another part of the house. She would have greeted Alphonse, but she herself had been doing some private mourning in her bedroom and felt that she shouldn't have her granddaughter see her in her current state.
Winry picked up the phone, surprised to hear the Colonel's voice. He talked a while, the news stunning Winry.
"Oh…r-really?" she asked, trying to hide a sob that was stuck in her throat. "Okay…I'll….I'll tell him. Thanks for calling…" before she hung up, the Colonel told her one last detail that made her shiver as she placed the phone on it's receiver.
She tread up her stairs to the bathroom, knocking on the door lightly.
"Come in." Al's voice answered. She opened the door to find Al standing in the room, staring into the mirror.
"That was the Colonel who just called." Winry said. Alphonse looked her way a bit.
"What did he say?"
"…Scar has been found." she said, averting her eyes away. "…he was…dead….at your brother's grave…." she whispered. She bit her tongue.
"Is there something you're not telling me, Winry?" Alphonse questioned, his voice surprisingly calm. Winry, however, was practically choking on tears at the thought of Edward's grave site.
"They….they told me…that….his…his head….wasn't there…" she choked, her whole body trembling in spasms of sobs.
Alphonse walked over to her, patting her shoulder. "Winry, don't cry. Brother wouldn't want you to cry over him." he whispered. She nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
"But now…somebody else it killing people." she said. "Somebody even stronger then Ed and Scar…"
"I'll protect you from him." Alphonse said. "I promise, I really will."
---
"What is it, Alphonse?" it was late at night, the second night Al had stayed. He looked at Winry, regret shining in the lights that were his eyes.
"I needed to confess before I leave." he said, staring straight into Winry's eyes. Winry started to fidget, noting that something had changed in Alphonse. Something about him was different.
"What do you need to confess? And…why are you leaving?" she asked, confusion lighting up her features.
Alphonse sighed. "You'll be scared, and I'm sorry for that…" he whispered. "But I just have to tell someone."
"What are you trying to say?" Winry asked, sudden fear crawling upon her skin. Pinako was asleep, and both teens were at the small cemetery in Risembool in front of Trisha Elric's grave. Alphonse had suggested that they go for a walk, and they had ended up here.
"…you see Winry…."
---
Many residents of Risembool had been awakened by Winry's terrified scream, and many went to investigate. Pinako was the first to arrive, however.
And as soon as she did, she couldn't help but vomit in her mouth.
Winry was sobbing on the ground, hugging herself as she rocked back in forth in front of Al's empty body. She was cradling her hand, which had a deep gash in it although that's most likely not why she screamed.
Alphonse himself was no longer moving, his helmet having rolled down the hill and the back of his armor cracked off.
His blood seal shattered.
And around him was blood, weapons and blood.
Weapons of torture, such as whips, knives, wire, and so many others.
Residents behind Al couldn't see what laid inside of Alphonse' himself.
If you haven't already guessed, there inside Alphonse was the head of Scar staring blankly towards Winry and Pinako. Only a tiny fragment of surprise was upon his face, seeing how Scar had always been ready to die.
And now Al was gone too.
"Winry, Winry what happened…get up…" Pinako said, although she had a good grasp of what had happened.
But only Winry knew the full story in detail.
---
"I killed Scar, Winry." Alphonse had confessed. Winry stared at him in a state of shock.
"W-what?" she stuttered.
"You heard me." Alphonse said. "I killed Scar. He killed my brother…so I avenged him."
"You mean…you were the one…"
"I'm sorry Winry…I didn't want you to know…but I couldn't bare it any longer." Alphonse looked down in shame. "What's even worse, Winry…is that I enjoyed it up until now, yet I have no regrets."
"Alphonse…how could-"
"He killed your parents, didn't he? You wanted him dead, didn't you?" Winry froze. "The only reason you didn't shoot the gun was because Edward stopped you!"
"But…I…."
"He killed my brother, Winry…you have to understand a little…." Alphonse shook his head.
"I wanted to see him die. I wanted to see him bleed…I wanted to avenge my brother."
---
"How did you know where to find me?" Scar asked, turning to face Alphonse. The were standing in front of Ed's new dug grave, the sun almost ready to set.
"It wasn't that hard to guess." Alphonse replied.
"I'm sorry that it had to be this way." Scar said, looking back at the grave. "I never dreamt of splitting apart two brothers, but it had to be done for his sins."
"And what is the penalty for murder?" Alphonse asked, a surprisingly sour tone in his usually calm voice.
"Death." Scar said. "And I will die, eventually."
"I won't allow it." Scar turned to Alphonse, his eyebrows raised.
"What do you mean?"
"I won't allow you to die "eventually"." Alphonse said. "The price for murder is death, you just admitted it. My brother never purposely killed anyone, and yet you still took him away. You, on the other hand, have murdered countless that have done lesser sin then you and yet you get to live longer?" Scar stared at the now enraged Alphonse.
"Why is that?" Alphonse hissed. "What equivalency is in it?" Alphonse opened his chest plate, pulling out a knife. "I don't understand it." he seemed to be admiring the knife, something no one would have pictured Alphonse doing. "Why don't you explain?"
"I must live in order to free this world of sin." Scar replied, his fists clenching. "What do you plan on doing?" Scar eyed the knife with slight surprise. He never expected Alphonse to change so dramatically.
"I plan to send you to that God of your's for your sins, only I hope he doesn't forgive you." Alphonse said, his calm voice sounding plain out murderous.
It must have been scary to see an alternate version of the kind hearted Elric, because even Scar started to back away.
"I won't hesitate to kill you, Elric." he warned.
"Neither will I." Alphonse said.
It didn't take long before Alphonse's hand was wrapped around Scar's neck. As Scar reached up to remove the giant suite of armor's hand, Al grabbed Scar's transmutation arm and pulled.
He kept pulling harder and harder, making Scar scream out a strangled cry until the arm was completely ripped off and thrown on the ground.
"Now what will you do?" Alphonse taunted, his hand slowly enclosing around Scar's neck.
But instead of crushing his wind pipe, Alphonse threw him on the ground and pulled out some wire from his armor. Every time Scar tried to move, Alphonse would smash on either one of his legs or his other arm so he'd stay still, and he'd always savor the cracking of the bone.
He slowly started to wrap the wire around Scar's body, making sure it was tight to the point it started to cut through his flesh.
How Alphonse enjoyed it.
As for Scar, he couldn't say much with a half crushed throat.
In a astonishing hour and three minutes, Scar was tied up with wire, his limbs broken, one ripped off and many gashes everywhere.
Blood pooled around them.
"Now, time to finish this off." Alphonse said, taking out a knife. He slowly cut through Scars neck flesh, taking his time so he could hear the strangled cries of his brother's murderer.
Eventually, he cut so deep that Scar's eyes lolled back and he became motionless. When Alphonse was sure his victim was dead, he severed the rest of the head off and started to carefully place his weapons back into his armor.
He saved the head for last, picking it up by the hair and carefully placing it within his armor.
Before leaving, he stared down at the mangled and beheaded body with a sick fascination.
Only then did the guilt start to settle into the remaining piece of Alphonse Elric.
He had killed someone for the first time in his life…
And now, it horrified him. Although even then, he had no regrets.
---
"You see Winry, I have no other choice." Alphonse explained, watching as Winry sobbed and vomited in front of him. He removed his helmet, placing his thumb on his blood seal.
"Wait Al, don't!" Winry cried out, reaching out for him.
Don't touch me!" Alphonse shouted back, accidentally cutting her with his held knife. As soon as the blood started to seep from her wound, he flinched back.
"I'm sorry Winry, I'm really sorry…" he said in the voice that made Winry cry harder. Inside, he was still Alphonse Elric, the innocent boy she used to know.
But he had become tainted, and the guilt had done it's damage.
"I told you, the price for murder is death." he whispered. "Scar died because I killed him…so I have to die now."
"No…please don't…" she whimpered, cradling her injured hand.
"I'm sorry Winry…but I have to see Ed again…and I told you that I'd protect you from Scar's killer, didn't I? Brother would want me to live up to my promise like he did…" he replied. Winry let out a terrified scream as Alphonse broke his blood seal, his arm falling limply to his side afterwards.
There was silence, dead silence. Alphonse's chest plate had been removed a while ago, revealing Scar's head staring blankly at her.
She didn't seem to notice as her mind came to a conclusion that she had been terrified of since the two brothers had left.
Alphonse Elric was dead.
Edward Elric was dead.
And they weren't coming back.
---
And Winry was currently being helped by residents of Risembool, Central officers having been called and on their way. Winry barely heard anything around her as she stared ahead of her.
The Elrics were dead. Both of them.
---
Weeks passed, the Elric brother's and Scar's tragic ends being broadcasted and printed everywhere.
She herself was quite famous in the papers as a tragic witness to the story.
She didn't care.
She would rather have it where no one knew, where it was just her own story and no one else's.
It was the last time she had been with one of the Elrics, and no matter how gruesome or terrifying it had been she still wanted it to be private.
She sighed, staring at the scar on her hand as she remembered less trivial times.
There had been times when she had known two innocent boys who loved to play and mess around.
If only she could live in her dreams instead of nightmares, then maybe she'd still be playing with two Elric brothers who would do anything and everything for each other.
But her scar reminded her that those two innocent brothers were gone, and the harsh reality was; they could never come back, no matter how badly she wanted them to.
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Yay! Cheesy ending!
Oh well.
Hope you liked it, maybe hated it?
Anyways, give me your opinions and what I could do to make it better (don't tell me that they're OOC, I already know that and they kinda had to be in a way).
And, thanks Ayumi! She helped me get this idea on MSN, even if she doesn't know it -nods-. Actually, she should know know it...
And if you don't know who Ayumi is, you're seriously deprived.
Anyways, bye!