This is not yaoi and I don't want this to be mistaken as it; Alphonse Heidrich (or Alfons, depending on how you spell it P:) is Ed's friend while he is in Germany and a double of his younger brother, THAT'S IT.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters.
When he finally opened his eyes, he saw me. "Alphonse?" Ed questioned, confusement crossing his face. I placed a finger to my lips and anxiously glanced over my shoulder.
"Really, you're a lucky one, Ed." I told him softly. Moving his head back and forth, he looked like was trying to work out how he'd ended up in the rocket first place. He opened his move as if he was about to speak. "Shh!" I placed a finger to my lips with uneasy eyes darting back and forth.
"What is this?" Edward asks, barely above a whisper, gazing up at me.
"I've set everything up so you can go back home." I answered back quietly. "You can take this second rocket while Eckhart isn't looking. You ready?"
"But I ..I could have sworn Eckhart shot me." I leaned over a bit, resting my folded arms against the side of the aircraft.
"Right in the fake arm. Good thing she's a bad shot." I add with a slight smile, amusement in my voice. Sighing in relief, I notice no one has seen him yet. "Our rockets peak at two kilometers a second. Should be enough speed to punch through the pressure, and get out safe. That's Haushofer's theory anyway. This shouldn't give you any problems." I added while gazing upward.
"Wait a minute! I never said I wanted to go!" Edward began to protest and tugged at his restraints.
"I'm not giving you a choice, Ed." I told him softly.
"Because I'm in the way? You're trying to get rid of me?" Edward questioned, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
I shook my head slowly. "We're real, Edward. We're not just part of your dreams like you think. I care and I make mistakes." I continued in a slight wavering tone. My eyes close painfully but at last, I re-open them, my azure irises meeting his golden. "I may not live much longer but I'll still be here." I told him. "Just don't forget me."
It was a simple request from a dying man.
Maybe it was childish of me but I never understood it. I never understood why those who aren't dying, those who have a whole life ahead of them want to end their life.
I was seventeen and dying but damnit, I didn't have any choice!
Why couldn't people be happy with their lives and actually live them? At least they didn't know when they were going to die; I longed to be in that bliss of ignorance.
With a small grunt, I slammed the top to the rocket shut. Running over to the control panel, my mind racing, I try to remember which button is the correct one. Pressing one, I noticed it jerks the rocket upward. Knowing it's the correct one brings small relief. From where I stood, I saw Ed jerking around uselessy and screaming something at me. Though with the glass and the sound of the engine's roar, it's impossible to tell what he is saying.
I pressed the final button, sending the rocket created from my very designs skyward and the crash of him through the roof is so loud I don't hear the click of a gun behind me.
A shot is fired and I slump to the floor, my very life bleeding from me.
They say when you are dying, your life flashes in a blur in front of you. I can tell you that's not true at all. It doesn't flash by, it takes its time and is agony; watching all your regrets in front of your eyes. It's pure torture to know you can't go back and change a damn thing.
Memories of the distant past replay themselves in my mind.
"You know you could be a novelist with the stories you tell!" I laughed as Ed drove the car down a deserted path.
"What? Are you saying you don't believe me?" Ed asked.
I laughed some more, "Oh, come on Ed. A place where alchemy kept evolving and was more important than the steam engine? Newton's laws eclipsed alchemy long ago, bringing in the modern age. That's historical fact!"
"In this world, you mean. In my world-" Ed stubbornly argued as the car swerved.
I coughed into my hand and slowly closed my hand, not wanting Ed to see the blood. He turned to me, concern visible in his eyes. "Al? You okay?"
"I'm fine. Just a little cold." I had lied so easily then. The forced smile tugging on the corner of my lips fooled him.
It fooled everyone.
"Alphonse, listen to me! I need to talk to you. Those people, your sponsors, they're bad news. You need to stop building their rockets!"
I tried to ignore Edward's urgent tone and packed the rest of my clothes and started off downstairs. "Our work's in the final stage. I'll be sleeping at the factory now." I murmured, half to myself, half to Ed.
"Wait! Your sponsors are plotting a war! They're gonna start by invading my world, and those rockets must have something to do with it. Listen to me!" He grabbed me by the shoulder, trying to get my attention as he followed me down the stairs.
Why didn't I listen? He was my best friend, trying desperately to warn me but I was a stubborn idiot. I refused to believe that all my plans, all my hardwork, would be aiding war.
I tried to stop myself but something inside me just snapped and my fist connected with the side of Ed's face. I regretted my actions instantly but a coughing fit took over. Blood stained my hand and trickled down the corners of my mouth.
Ed gasped behind me. "The truth is..." I told him slowly. "I'm running out of time. You say this world's not yours, but it is mine, and I want to leave proof that I lived in it! It's a bit late for you to start caring now!" I grabbed up my suitcase and ran to the door, slamming it behind me.
I don't know what I was running from; Maybe I was running Ed and the fact he could be right. I ran on until I reached the factory, my chest aching and screaming with every step I took.
Slowly I felt myself fading away. Blackness replaced the fading memories.
I'm sorry I didn't believe you, Ed. You were my best friend and I didn't believe you. Oh God, please forgive me.
"...I'm sorry. Please don't...forget me. Mein Bester Fruend... Mein Bruder..." These final words escape my bloodstained lips as I fall into the darkness that I knew would come for me one day. And somewhere beyond this war-torn country filled with distrust, hate, and bloodshed, I didn't feel anything anymore.
This has got to be one of the saddest things I've ever written! ;-;
For those of you wondering, he is saying, "My best friend... My brother..." in German.
Please remember to tell me what you thought in reviews or in PM. ^^
~evanescent