Just to let you know I'm thinking of expanding this because my cousbro said it went too fast as far as the resolution. I don't have much time right now, but maybe I will in future, so please keep that in mind and tell me if you like it enough to see it fleshed out more.
For August 27 of AlMei Week 2016: AU Cross Over: Death Note, FMAB, SAO
For a moment, Al thought Ed was going to yell at him, curse at him for being stupid, yelling at him for how he would be throwing his life away. Regardless of how he was prepared (he was fully ready to throw out the word 'hypocrite' considering Ed in Winry had got hitched and had Hugh and Sara-Nina, almost immediately after he came back to Resembool) he still felt a little nervous about gaining his brother's approval. Sure, he had already proposed, but if Al did the math correctly, little Hugh seemed to be born just close enough for a really observant person to figure out they hadn't been able to wait…right? This didn't matter to Al, of course, but the point was that Edward wouldn't be able to judge. If he tried to say something against it, Al would just so subtly bring up their hasty marriage at eighteen. So what if Mei and he had been apart for so long? Their time spent teaching Al alkahestry in Xing had more than made up for it. She had started out as just a 13-year-old who became a good friend, despite her raging crush on him, but now it was something more. He was in love with Mei Chang, the Princess of the Chang clan, and the favorite sister of the Emperor Ling. And damn it, he was going to propose to her, whether his brother approved or not.
But surprisingly, rather than chastise him, Edward threw his head back and laughed.
"You're in love with the beansprout!" he said gleefully, "I knew it! Paninya's gonna have to pay up!" He continued to laugh raucously, flopping himself down on the sofa. Al was dumbfounded.
"You— you bet on us?!"
"Yep! Paninya said that you were just good friends, but I said 'Nope. It's coming! They'll be dating behind our backs within a month, and married within five years! I guarantee it!" His laughter slowed and he called to his wife. "Did ya get that, Win, Al's getting married!"
As if on cue, (in fact, it most likely was on cue) Winry rushed in from their automail garage, her hands and wrench suspiciously clean of grease. "Oh my God, Alphonse!" She threw her arms around him mercilessly, so forceful that one of her legs was in the air, and he almost toppled over. "I'm so happy for you! Mei and you make a great couple! Your kids will be beautiful, and the sweetest things ever!"
Al, feeling awkward, gently pushed off his sister in law with a nervous laugh. "Easy there, Winry. I haven't even asked her yet. I am not sure she will accept." Al wrote his gaze to the floor. What if she said no?
"Ah, don't be ridiculous, Alphonse!" said Ed, putting his feet nonchalantly on the coffee table in front of him. "She's a five-star alchahestrist, an ultimate ninja, and the Princess of a foreign country. You're a foreigner war hero with no noble blood whatsoever. What could go wrong?"
There was a sharp clang as Winry's wrench connected with Ed's head. "Kidding. Kidding, honey. She'd be stupid not to say yes. Ow."
Al laughed, and hoped that they both were right.
Kirito and Asuna appeared on the road just a few miles away from the house. It was beautiful, unlike anything in Aincrad or Alfheim, more rustic than anything else. Kirito felt Asuna squeeze his hand. He had been paid once before to don the NerveGear, but this was different. They were both being paid to travel across dimensions now, with merely their minds and their brains' nervous guiding their spiritual bodies, while their real ones lay in a hospital in Tokyo, being carefully monitored. The Astral Project had really taken off, even after GGO and Death Gun hit the news.
"It's Okay," he said, squeezing his wife's hand in return. "We will figure out what the disturbance is, and to be back before you can say 'dungeon'". Asuna smiled, but he knew she was holding up for him. Virtual realities were completely different compared to other realities. If they died here, who knew what would happen to the actual brains and bodies? They couldn't even bring their daughter, Yui, to help, considering that she was part of videogame interfaces and not compatible with the world outside.
"Let's go," Asuna said, now reassuring him. "The Elric brothers will be expecting us.
Edward smiled as he looked down at his daughter, who was just beginning to fall asleep as her brother deconstructed and reconstructed one of his mother's favorite wrenches on the floor, a white chalk circle drawn into the wood floor by his unsteady hands. Winry had gone completely overboard and demanded to see the ring that Al had picked for Mei, which was getting resized by one of Mme. Christmas' good friends. He would never admit it, but Ed truly enjoyed the quiet moments with his children.
"Hugh," Ed said. "What did I tell you about transmuting Mommy's tools?"
"Put them back properly and don't get caught."
Ed smiled at his son's savvy nature. "Exactly. And you just got caught. By me."
Hugh smiled and dutifully carried his mother's wrench back to the garage, just as the phone rang, waking Sarah-Nina. She began crying as Ed gently bounced her on his way to the phone.
"Damn it. I'm sorry, baby girl I'm sorry." He saw the caller ID on the small screen and rolled his eyes, picking up the phone from the cradle on the wall.
"Better be good, you bastard, you woke my daughter."
"That's Bastard Führer, to you Fullmetal, and if she is anywhere near as grouchy as you are when being woken up, I pity poor Winry."
Ed contemplated saying something about how Riza had to put up with Roy, but thought better of it. As Führer, Mustang's lines were always at risk of being tapped, and the anti-fraternization laws were still in the process of being repealed. There were a few petty people in Central that Ed could think of who would not be above using their relationship to impeach him.
"What do you want?" Ed asked, annoyed.
"I was thinking of beating your ass at mah-jongg again, if you're willing." He said, almost lazily." The pub across the way is offering two new foreign liquors, I think you would like them."
Ed's stomach dropped. "Sorry, Roy, but I got the kids until Win gets back. He was struggling to keep his tone even, never really good at the reconnaissance thing.
"Oh, don't worry, I have a good friend that will keep an eye on your rug rats. Where are Alphonse and Winry again? I could send a car by to pick them up. Al can bring that little Xingese Angel of his too, that way I won't be alone when he's hitting on my subordinate."
The Führer's tone remained relaxed but Ed could feel his fists clench. Mah-jongg, a very dangerous mission. Two new foreign liquors: foreign agents coming to assist. The fact that he wanted Ed to bring the kids, Mei, Al, and Winry did not bode well at all either.
"The jewelry store, that your friend recommended us to." Ed said, gulping ruefully. "Al had some business there."
"Probably buying Hawkeye a necklace, the rascal. See you soon." Despite his standard joke of Alphonse and him switching lovers, his voice sounded resigned. There was a definite click as he hung up the phone.
Edward rocked Sarah-Nina nervously, as much to calm her as himself. What would be so bad that Mustang would gather all of them and their loved ones in one place to be debriefed. Ever since the dispelling of The Father, things have been rather peaceful in Amestris. Just as he started to pace, the door opened, revealing a rather unsettled Winry and Alphonse. Maybe they had heard the news already.
"Look, guys, Mustang just called, there's something—" he stopped short as Winry and Alphonse parted, allowing a red-haired woman and a black haired man to step forward.
Ed put his hands on his hips, smiling grimly. "Well I guess you two would be the foreign liquors, huh?"
…
After Ed had called Mustang, letting him know that Winry, the new agents, and he had returned, Al and the rest piled into the Führer's personal car, on their way to pick up Mei. Ever since coming back from Xing, she had rented a room in a town not far off. Fuery wouldn't say much, but it was apparent, they and those they loved were in danger. A separate officer had been sent by train to pick up Paninya and Garfiel, and Al wondered what in the hell could be so threatening. His stomach turned as he used his fingers to gently open and close the box in his pocket. He had no plan on how he was going to propose to Mei, but from the way things were looking, he might just have to pop the question quickly.
"Mei Chang, we are in danger, so I don't have time for pleasantries, but if we get out of this alive, please marry me!"
He couldn't help but smile at the thought. Some part of him that she might actually like that better.
Al was torn out of his daydream by Edward's interrogation of the husband and wife agents—Asuna Yuki and Kazuto Kirigaya.
"So… You're telling me you're from this sort of parallel universe, where you use weird-ass machines on your heads to project yourself somewhere else?"
"That's one way of putting it." The husband, Kazuto said. "It started out with video games, but it's gotten a lot more advanced. We were told that there was a dark disturbance in this area, and were summoned here."
"Do you know of anything that could be causing such commotion?" The redhead wife, Asuna, who had been quiet when they first met her at the door, had suddenly blossomed into an inquisitive general figure, asking about the layout of the land, and the types of crime Amestris and the other countries were susceptible to. It was apparent she had experience in this sort of thing. While Ed was too busy trying to grapple onto what the heck "video games" were, Alphonse answered for him.
"Not since The Father and his trying to create Philosopher's Stones."
"Philosopher's Stones?" Asuna asked. For the remainder of the ride, Al gave them a complete rundown of the entire gruesome process.
"This is your stop, champ," Kaine Fuery said, looking at Al from the driver's seat. "Go get her."
"Yeah," said Winry in a whisper, cuddling, Sarah-Nina(it was getting late, and the kids had long since fallen asleep, with Hugh breathing steadily on Edward's lap, holding a badly transmuted wrench like a teddy bear. (Al would have to fix it later.) He felt his face turning red as he opened the car door.
"It's not like I'm going to propose to her now," he muttered, irritated. But all of his vexation vanished when he saw Mei running out the door to greet him, worry in her dark blue eyes.
"Oh my goodness, Alphonse! I was so worried!" She slammed into him, still a good deal shorter than he was, her head only reaching his chest. "There are things all wrong again! Things in the ground, like with the Philosopher's Stones!" She pushed away from him slightly, keeping her hands on his chest as she looked up into his face, utterly terrified. "I was just about to come warn you when you—" he cut her off with a hard kiss, bringing his hands to each side of her face, trying to calm her… or maybe himself. Though his eyes were closed, he could hear a distinct "Whoo!" from Edward and a wolf whistle from Fuery, but he didn't care. He had had this horrible feeling that this was the last time he was ever going to see her, and he had squash it. He pulled away from her, only taking a second to enjoy the dazed look on her face as he pushed her into the car.
"No time to explain, sweetheart," he said, even buckling her seatbelt for her. "To Madame Christmas we go."
Despite the usual surliness of her manner, Madame Christmas spared no hospitality when they entered the secret back room. The bar was advertised as closed for maintenance, just in case, but Al highly doubted customers could hear anything that went on in there .The Führer loved to use it for government meetings, but Edward was constantly harassing him about Riza and "the things they might get up to" there. Mustang already sat at the head of the largest table, and there were chairs and drinks set up in every place. Al figured they were going to need the latter. There were the officers they knew, already sitting down: Falman, Havoc, Breda (who was already drinking liberally.) Even the Major General Armstrong was there, accompanied by her brother, The Major Alex himself. Al wanted to say hello, but understood this was not the time, settling for a small wav.e As Winry made a quick exit to put the kids to bed in the supply closet, Al pulled out a chair for Mei and sat next to her. Goosebumps rose all over his arms, and even though she was inches from him, it still seemed too far away. Why had they been brought here? He caught a glimpse of the only person he did not know in the room— a scrawny officer of about his own age, standing behind Olivier's chair, taking notes. Kazuto and Asuna sat down next to one another across from them, and Ed the in seat to Al's left, pulling the newly returned Winry onto his knee. Mustang raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"I have brought you all here for your own protection, as well as a debriefing. I have it on good authority that men are quite literally dropping dead in Fort Briggs, and several other military sites. General Armstrong and I have done thorough investigations and have failed to find any evidence of foul play. I did not share this information with you right away, because quite frankly, when examined, it is almost inconceivable…" The Fuhrer paused, and Al noted the almost imperceptible twitch of Hawkeye's arm — she was probably gripping his hand under the table. Mustang sighed in resignation, and continued. "The death toll however, is starting to rise in numbers and spread in area, although only targeting military and public officials. Seeing as you all fall into that category, or are in association with those that do, I deemed it wise to keep you all safe here until we figure out who and where the culprit is."
"Wait a minute" Edward said, his voice rising in irritation. "You're telling me — and the rest of us — that you let these deaths continue to take place in order to see whether or not you deemed it 'conceivable' enough?" Al heard the slightest smack of Winry's fist against Ed's arm, and he had a feeling that without her on his knee, Brother would've stood up and slammed his hands on the table. Al could see Mustang resist rolling his eyes, but the tension in the room became taut. He could see the young officer trying to inch away into the corner— still scribbling notes— as though he was trying to escape from the tense atmosphere as much as possible. It struck Al as odd that Olivier would need an adjutant at all, much less one so nervous. Mustang spoke, drawing his attention back.
"Stay where you are, Officer Leoht. It's standard procedure for Edward to question my judgment. Contrary to your belief, Fullmetal, even as Führer, I have very limited resources. I must use them wisely, if I am to continue protecting the nation and people I love." Al could've sworn he saw Roy's eyes flicker to Winry and Mei and knew that he was thinking of a particular subordinate. "Besides, I don't think it would be fair for Sarah-Nina if I constantly woke her up with my phone calls, telling you every blessed thing." Al didn't understand why, but this seemed to make his brother glare even harder.
"What were the circumstances of the deaths?" Mei piped up. "Gunshots? Poisoning?"
The Fuhrer put his head in his hands, exhausted disbelief coloring his features. "The last one was a gunshot — a suicide/murder by one of Olivier's men, but the previous four — were heart attacks."
Other than Lieutenant Breda coughing over his liquor, there was a heavy silence, which once again Edward seemed to be compelled to break. "You mean you brought us here because some of her cronies went too heavy on the cholesterol?" Winry smacked him again.
"Edward!'
This time. Mustang ignored his comments and Olivier jumped in. "Those men were some of my best soldiers, and I have no time for your sardonic games! We need your help to figure out what is causing this, and quickly, for even Ishvalans sense a disturbance in the flow." Breda continued to hack away as Olivier looked down at the table, a movement which only Al seemed to notice.
"Major General?" he asked, feeling like there was a stone in the pit of his stomach. She looked up, definitely no tears, but no shortage of sorrow, either.
"Miles is dead." She said briskly. "He was the one who pulled the trigger on one of my younger soldiers. That's when I knew something was wrong. He would never do that unprovoked, and the other kid wasn't built for Briggs… Wouldn't hurt a fly."
All was still except for Breda's incessant coughing.
"Heymans," Mustang said pointedly, "would you like another drink?"
Lieut. Breda looked up, his entire face red, seeming not to be able to get a breath in. "Sorry, boss — must've went down the wrong pipe. Having a bit of trouble—" before Falman could resume patting him on the back, Breda suddenly fell to the table, unconscious.
"BREDA!"
As Mustang stood up and ran to his subordinate's side, everyone else followed suit. Winry he jumped off of Ed's lap, and ran to assist, while Al stood up in conjunction with Mei, already preparing the possibly needed alkahestry. Before they could even lift a finger, Mustang raised his head, unabashed tears in his eyes.
"He's dead."
It seemed to Al, as though the whole room at frozen over in a matter of seconds. Everyone could hear one another breathing and was afraid to move a muscle. He reached out and pulled Mei to him as he saw Winry and Al rush to the back room, returning with their sleepy son and daughter in tow. There was more silence, and it was louder than any scream they could have let out. Al saw Kazuto holding onto his wife, as though his life depended on it, both of their swords out, as though that could somehow protect them.
"So he's here…" growled Mustang, and before Riza could stop him, he burst through the door to the empty bar room. They all followed.
"WE KNOW YOU'RE HERE, YOU BASTARD!" Mustang shouted in a rage, ready to snap his fingers at a moment's notice, even if it razed the building. "Time to come out and play!" Al felt a chill creep down his spine, and held Mei closer. Something in him said that this wasn't a regular poisoning. There was something very wrong. Mustang ran forward to his foster mother who was standing at the empty bar.
"Madame, I have reason to believe that someone is specifically targeting us tonight. You need to get out of here. Check your stores, they may be poisoned—" But when he touched her, there was no movement, until she slumped over the counter.
"Madame!" He reached forward, turning her large unwieldy body around, and Al was horrified to see horizontal slice across her neck."
"Aunt Chris…" The voice in which the Fuhrer spoke was quiet, broken, but when he stood up, he was unwavering. "Back in the room. Now."
Like sheep following a shepherd they all hurried after him, back into the meeting place, closing the doors after themselves and some re-taking their seats. No one spoke, and all eyes were attuned to the slumped form of Breda on the table.
"So which one of you did it," he said coldly. "Which one of you poisoned Lieutenant Breda and stabbed Madame Christmas?" Edward stood up, slamming his fists on the wooden table, causing it to shake.
"Are you freaking serious?!" he said. "You were the one that dragged me and my family here in the first place!"
"I wasn't talking to you, Fullmetal," he said. "I was addressing The Northern Wall of Briggs, and her young adjutant." There was a collective gasp. "And while I'm at it, Edward, do you know anything about your lovebird guests that showed up this evening? I saw the reports, but other than their credentials in their place of origin, it told me next to nothing." His eyes shifted toward Kazuto and Asuna.
"What are you talking about?!" said Kazuto, shouting. "We came all the way from another dimension to help your asses, not be accused!"
"And what the hell do you mean accusing me of murdering my own men!?" Olivier's voice boomed.
"I have no choice, but to ask questions!" Mustang shouted. "One of my men, and my foster mother are dead, all within the space of five minutes, and you two are the only ones in his room who are even in the vicinity of Briggs! These two teens might as well be aliens for all I care, but give me a better explanation!"
And then the answer hit Alphonse like a punch in the face.
"Two."
They all turned to him. His voice was shaking.
"Fuhrer Mustang," he said. "I don't know Kazuto and Asuna from Adam, but the fact is, they weren't anywhere near this country when Olivier's men died. And as you just pointed out... There is only one person in this room who has been to Briggs recently and has not said a word this entire time."
They all turned to the scrawny adjutant Leoht, staring at him with a horrified curiosity. Even while being accused, he was still scribbling furiously.
Mustang stepped forward. "Care to explain, Officer Leoht?"
Al felt Mei grab his arm as the young man started laughing, clapping his hands as he transferred the pen to the other hand. The result was a disjointed clunky sound, as though they weren't worth the effort of real applause.
"Well done, Young Elric." The officer said. "You figured out a big part of the puzzle quicker than any of these fools. The question is… Can you figure out the other piece?" He put his notebook and pen back in his shirt pocket, checked his watch, waited a bit, and snapped his fingers.
Paninya crumpled to the floor, followed quickly by Garfiel.
"PANINYA! MR. GARFIEL!" Winry shoved Sarah-Nina into Edwards arms as little Hugh began to cry. Winry fell to her knees, desperately, feeling their pulses.
"Somebody help! They're— They're dying! Al rushed over to them quickly drawing an alkahestry circle, but it was too late. They were already gone.
"No…NO!" Ed handed his children wordlessly to Riza and ran over, holding Winry in his arms, prying her away from the bodies. Al simply stared, and Mei pressed herself into him, before turning to the malignant officer, sobbing.
"How are you doing this?! She shrieked. "How are you killing us without lifting a finger!? Al turned and pulled her closer, trying to keep her quiet. Normally, that was the last thing he would try to do to his fiery girl, but whatever Officer Leoht was doing, it was unprecedented. It couldn't have been poison, because Garfiel and Paninya didn't ingest anything. Making a chill creep down his spine, the young officer seemed to read Alphonse's mind.
"I don't know, little lady," he said mischievously. "Maybe I poisoned them."
"No you didn't," Mei said fiercely. "Neither of them drank anything. I watched."
God, he loved her so much.
The man smiled, seeming to enjoy this game of his. "You caught me. It isn't poison, but it might as well be. With all your swords and all your alchemy, you are still helpless against me." He checked his watch again, saluted, and suddenly, Vato Falman was gripping his right arm. Mei almost leapt out of Al's arms, fully prepared this time, as she drew an alkahestric array around Falman. The pain in his arm seemed to ease and he sat up straight once more.
"Thanks, Princess." Officer Leoht, however, looked utterly horrified.
"WHAT? That's impossible! You should be dead!" He snapped his fingers again, taking out his notebook and writing something down. Within seconds, Falman began to vomit blood. As Mei tended to him a second time, Officer Leoht begin to scribble frantically, snapping his fingers as he went. "Why aren't you dying? Why aren't all of you dying?" The snap resounded in Al's head and suddenly everything clicked.
"Mei!" He shouted at her, gesturing at his hips with his right hand, and she got the message, throwing him two of her knives. As soon as he caught them, Al aimed, and using an alkahestric circle he had drawn on his hand, sliced off both of his thumbs. Leoht screamed and dropped his notebook.
"Can't snap your fingers now, can you Leoht?" Al said, smiling over at Mei. "The game is up." But instead of admitting defeat, the heavy breathing officer began to stand up again, laughing as he picked up the notebook with a bloody hand.
"You think it's the snapping of my fingers, you golden eyed fool? Your wife will join the dead without my thumbs!" He raised his bloody hand and began writing the words in his own blood on the pages of his notebook.
"NO!"
The realization hit Alphonse almost as quick as his palm hit the floor. The floorboards peeled up, creating a trail of destruction from Al's feet, all the way to Leoht, who dropped the notebook through the floor. There was a snap from the back of the room, and suddenly Leoht was in flames, screaming as he shouted.
"You're a Fool, Roy Mustang! With my Death Note and the Philosopher's Stone's, which will conquer the entire countryside! Entire dimensions! I did it to my own, why not this one? We could've ruled together! You, me, and the Shinigam—"
There were several gunshots, as Riza emptied her clip. Leoht fell, the fire that was devouring his corpse, spreading to the floor.
"We need to get out of here now!" Ed shouted, carrying both Hugh and Sarah-Nina, as he jumped down the hole in the floor. Everyone else followed suit, but right before he ran he followed everyone out of the bar, Al picked up Leoht's notebook.
"Good evening, Alphonse Elric."
As he stood alone in the burning bar, his jaw dropped. Standing— no— levitating in front of him, was a demon, with dagger-like teeth and eyes that chilled his soul.
"If you want we can have a lot of fun together," it said.
"Alphonse, what the hell are you doing!" Mei came rushing back in, kissing him, before she grabbed his hand. "Come on! All of the alcohol in his place is going to make it blow!" They rushed out to meet the others, and a few seconds later, the bar exploded behind them.
"Al! Mei! Thank God!" Ed pulled them both into a crushing hug, before putting Al at arm's length, and shaking him. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!" Al merely held the book up to his brother's face, the black cover ominously reading " death note".
"What?
Al placed his brother's hand on the terrible volume and suddenly Edward jumped backward. "WHAT IN HELL IS THAT THING!?" The demon laughed as the book was passed around, until everyone else could finally see him too.
"What are you?" Riza asked, standing next to Roy with her other gun in her hand.
"My name is Ryuk. I'm a Shinigami. You guys just gave me enough entertainment for a hundred years. The demon took a swig from a bottle it must've stolen, some imported apple cider.
"Tell us everything." Mustang demanded.
"Only if the owner asks." Ryuk said mischievously. Everyone looked at Al, and he sighed. Finders, Keepers…
"Tell them everything."
It turned out that officer Kira Leoht was not who he said he was at all. From another dimension, just like Kazuto, and Asuna, his name was Light Yagami. He had destroyed his own world in an effort to make it a better one by killing criminals. Soon, however, he became drunk with the power, much to Ryuk's glee, and with the advent of dimensional travel, have sought to make the entire universe bow beneath him. He heard of two separate dimensions that used the power of deceased humans— Philosopher's Stones— to increase their might and political prowess. Light had been convinced that with his ultimate notebook, he could channel all the deaths into several Philosopher's Stones, making him virtually invincible.
"What a creep." Edward said. "Glad he's gone. All we have to do is destroy this thing, and it's done."
Mustang sighed, exasperated. "Ed, if you had paid attention to this nice to this nice god of death, you would have realized that this is not the only death note."
"WHAT?!" Edward gathered Winry and his kids to him as though he was surrounded at that very moment. "You mean those shiny origamis are everywhere with their little books of death?!"
"Shinigami," Ryuk said, correcting him. "Anyway, you shouldn't have to worry about it. The Shinigami Realm so far only reaches to Light's and my dimension. The only one you need be concerned with for now is the one Phonze over there is holding." They all stared at Al, but he only looked down at the book, flipping through the pages, until he got to the most recently used.
"I don't understand. All of the names are in here. Chris Mustang, Heymans Breda, Vato Falman, Boaz Garfiel. Paninya LeCoulte. All with their times of death, and how— that's why he was checking his watch. But there are other names here too, with the times already past, that had no effect. I don't get it." Everyone crowded around Al— even Ryuk— to take a look.
Chris Mustang-cause of death: suicide by slit throat at 8:30 PM.
Heymans Michael Breda-cause of death: slow asphyxiation at 9:15 PM.
Paninya LeCoulte
Boaz Garfeil
Vato Falman-cause of death: intestinal rupture at 10:00 PM.
Everybody except Ryuk gasped at the names that followed:
Kazuto Kirigaya
Asuna Yuki
Riza Hawkeye- cause of death: asphyxiation at 10:15
And something that made Al feel like he was going to fall to his knees where he stood. Written in Yagami's own blood.
Princess May Chang- cause of death: exsanguination at 10:30 Pm.
Mei put her hand on Al's shoulder, but he could feel it was cold. He looked at her in disbelief, placing his hand on her face and pulling her into a tight hug. It's past 10:30 PM, he kept trying to tell himself, it's past 10:30 . But there was a part of him, wondering, a terrible part whether she would still be taken away from him. His face buried in her hair. He managed to hear Roy's voice, equally harrowed.
"Riza… What does this mean?"
Everything was silent, until the death god started laughing. Al looked up just as they all turned to him, aghast.
"You silly humans should take some time to read the rules before you pick it up. If you misspell someone's name, even if you are picturing her face, the death note will not obey you. As for Mister and Mrs. Virtual Reality over here, their bodies are in a different dimension the death note, and although the book doesn't say anything, I imagine it voids the execution entirely. Not even gods of death know everything about death notes, so I wouldn't be surprised if fatalities had something to do with a chi disturbance as well, which might explain why the little Princess was able to save Sergeant Salt N' Pepper over there." He paused, pointing one of his long, dagger-like nails at Falman, who touched his stomach gingerly.
"After all, for the death note to exist in the human world we live in is a stretch in itself, do you honestly think that it could reach across space and time and not come out with a few kinks?" The Shinigami continued to laugh as Kazuto could be seen kissing Asuna in relief. Roy still looked terribly confused and glanced at Riza.
"But that is your name! Spelled properly and everything! What does he mean—" it was at this point, Riza began to smile, realizing what had saved her.
"Remember a couple weeks ago when I went to the registry? I decided to hyphenate it after all." There was a moment of silence before the Fuhrer did something completely unexpected, pulling his adjutant to him, and kissing her hard. There was a palpable silence as almost everyone questioned their eyesight for a moment.
"You're a damn genius." he said, kissing her again, causing several different exclamations of "What?" "What do you mean?" Hyphenate how? 'IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING!'" Which prompted the Fuhrer and his Colonel to— without breaking their embrace— hold up their left hands, showing silver rings.
There was a collective cheer from almost everyone— Olivier was not into that sort of thing, and Alphonse, though happy for them, was still shaken. As there were screams and whoops of congratulations, Alfonse only smiled weakly, staring momentarily back at the writing on the page. Mei had almost been murdered. He had almost lost her.
When Fuhrer Mustang finally pulled away from his wife, and stared at them all, his face going from smiling to sober in seconds.
"If any of you tell anyone about this before the fraternization laws are amended, I will strip you all of your military rankings and have you incarcerated for treason, is that clear?"
Everyone nodded, (some accommodating, some clearly frightened) but Alphonse was still standing staring at the notebook, transfixed by the last name , though letters, haunting his eyes.
May Chang.
May Chang
His Mei Chang.
He suddenly felt her lips brush his cheek in comfort.
"It's spelled wrong, silly." she said, "don't you worry. I'm not going to'exsanguinate anywhere'— Alphonse what are you—" her sentence was cut off by a gasp, for in a split second decision Al had bent down on one knee, silencing everyone.
"Princess Mei Chang," he said nervously, "I hate to be accused of copying off the Fuhrer, and I really wasn't planning on doing this tonight, but—" he reached into his pocket and pulled out the box, opening it. "I almost lost you tonight. By two letters I almost…" He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. "Anyway, I was planning on this whole grand spiel with flowers and all that… But after tonight. I can't wait anymore. I love you. I want to be with you forever if you'll have me, and keep you safe and happy. I got a glimpse of what my world would be like without you — and I couldn't bare it. I… Will you marry me, Mei?"
There was a moment of silence as Al saw tears in her eyes— hopefully happy ones, he thought. Havoc, Fuery, and Falman were waiting just as much as he was, tense as coiled springs on his behalf. Winry was crying silently, and if Al didn't know better, he would say Ed was too. Hawkeye had a soft smile on her face, whereas Mustang and Olivier were looking intently, showing little surprise as if this were a chess game, and not a decision that might change the rest of his life. And of course Alex Louise Armstrong was in the process of watering the grass with his tears At this moment, however, though his heart was being torn inch by inch the longer she waited; all he cared about was her.
"Plus," he added, shakily. "It's probably a good idea to change your name now, since—" but he was cut off as Mei fell to her knees, and kissed him, throwing her arms around him and almost knocking him backward.
"Yes! You idiot! Yes!" She buried her face in his shoulder, and Al could feel the tears in his eyes now, as he put the ring on her finger. They both looked down at it in disbelief, looking at the inscription he had put there.
You gave me ten, I will give you eleven.
They embraced once again, to the sound of everyone's cheers—including Mustang's.
Ten years later, a six-year-old girl with raven hair and golden eyes ran onto the cemetery grounds, with her parents in tow. She came to three graves and slowed down, as a mark of respect for the woman and the men remembered there, two of which he was named for.
Heymans Breda, loyal soldier and friend
Paninya LeCoulte, best friend, and arm wrestler supreme
Boaz Garfiel, Automail Engineer, mentor , friend
Breda felt both of her parents kneel down beside her, knowing Ryuk was not far behind. Ryuk came with Daddy's 'nasty book' that he never used. He went anywhere they did. Like a dog, but better. Ryuk almost saved her life once too. She was grateful he didn't have to though, because she didn't want him to go to Shiny-Gonni heaven, like he said he would have. She looked at the tombstones somehow expecting something more, after all the stories that her daddy had told. He picked her up and swiped a flyaway hair out of her face.
"You okay, Breda sweetheart?" She smiled at her father, whose golden eyes matched hers.
"Yep."
Her mother leaned in, moving awkwardly because of Breda's baby brother, Boaz, that she kept in her belly. "So when are you going to say if Hugh makes fun of your name?"
She smiled, promptly repeating what she had rehearsed. "My name is not Bread Pan. My name is Breda Paninya Chang-Elric, and I was named after an aunt and uncle who died that I love very much. They gave ten, I will give eleven."
Author's note: Leoht means "Light" in Old English.