Empty Gold
Summary: Roy and Al haven't seen Ed for six months since the incident. Now they can't wait any longer. But what if they don't find what they're looking for? Based on BBI. Songfic to Your Star By Evanescence. Could be viewed as slight Parental Roy. One-shot.
Disclaimer: I don't own FMA or Ed would've become the new Pride at the end of the series.
Author's Notes: I'M ALIVE!!!! Yeah it's been ages since the last update and I'm really sorry. Thing is, I'm suffering from a writer's block the size of Everest so give me a break and besides, my GCSE exams are coming up. Okay enough excuses and onto thoughts with this fic. I'm addicted to Pride!Ed stories at the moment so it wasn't long before I wrote one myself. It obviously follows the Pride ending route, but I'm changing it so it ends up with Roy and Al alive (obviously). Spoilers if you don't know a thing about the game. I only know a little myself, seeing as I'm trying to track down an english subbed version for download. But at least I tried. Now on to the fic!
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Empty Gold
It had all started six months ago, after the incident. They had thought they had died that night, protecting Ed from the homunculus as they attacked him. Al even remembered the feeling of Envy's fist being driven through his skin. But then they had woken up, completely unharmed on the floor of the room. Ed was missing. And had been ever since. It was as if Edward Elric had disappeared from the face of the Earth.
I can't see your star
I can't see your star
Though I patiently waited, bedside,
For the death of today
Mustang and Al had finally had enough. They wanted to see Edward again; they knew he had to be alive, somewhere. So they decided to search. But wherever they went, it seemed they had missed him for flying rumours of golden hair and eyes drifted among the masses of town's people they passed. Could it be he was running from them? Or were they just too late?
I can't see your star
The mechanical lights of Lisbon
Frightened it away
Al was a wreck, Mustang barely fairing any better. How could they be so close yet it always seemed to escape their grasp? Al still considered this his fault, no matter what Mustang had tried to say otherwise. He shouldn't have left his brother when he needed him! Now he felt so alone. Just like Ed must have felt...
And I'm alone now
Me and all I stood for
They still wandered on, searching desperately for the blond alchemist. Both had been gone for three weeks now, drawing curious rumours in their absence, but neither cared. They weren't going back until they found Ed again. No matter what.
We're wandering now
All in parts in pieces, swim lonely
Find your own way out
Finally they had made it to
Resembool after a month of fruitless searching. After much
questioning around the small town, they discovered there had been no
sightings of him, much to their disappointment. As they trudged down
the small road, Al looked up from the ground and saw something he had
never truly wanted to see again in his life: the graveyard where his
mother and brother's gravestones stood.
He had never wanted the
funeral, considering they hadn't been able to find the body, but
Hawkeye had insisted on it; however everyone could see her inner
turmoil even within her normal calm mask. Roy and Al had grudgingly
agreed. There was now a gravestone standing in the name of him, right
next to his mother's.
I can't see your star
I can't see your star
How can the darkness feel so wrong?
Chancing a glance, Mustang saw the mixture of sadness and longing upon the face of Alphonse as he stared up on the rows of white marble. He wanted to visit. Mustang could even sense the need building up within him as well, just daring him to see the grave then prove everyone wrong.
And I'm alone now
Me and all I stood for
Al looked at him, noticing his gaze at last.
"Can we visit?" He whispered, as if to maintain the silence settling into the small community. There wasn't a soul about...
"Yes. Let's go." Mustang muttered back and they wandered up the hill, unaware of being watched by hazy golden eyes.
We're wondering now
All in parts in pieces, swim lonely
They finally reached the top of the
hill, staring sadly at the small stone that continued to oppose their
belief. Edward couldn't be dead. But they could still pay their
respects. Al had broken down crying and sobbing in his
knees.
"Brother! I'm-m so sorry! Please just come back
wherever you are! You can't be dead!" He yelled with a note of
hysteria present within his voice. Mustang himself was barely
restraining the flow of tears himself as he gazed closely at the
stone and its message.
Edward Elric
1898-1913
A true friend and brother
Nothing will ever truly separate us
Al himself had chosen the message.
He felt it truly suited him. They were brought of their thoughts as
they heard soft footsteps approaching, as if hesitant.
"He...won't
come...back." A familiar voice whispered. Both of them snapped
their heads around to look at the intruder and felt their eyes widen
with shock and their mouths drop open.
Find your own way out
It was Ed. Well, it looked just like him, yet different; a reflection with obvious mistakes. But who else could it be? It was the same golden hair, only it was no longer in a braid and seemed longer. He was dressed in black wearing, much to Roy and Al's horror, the same outfit as Envy, but with a long fingerless glove present on his left arm and a small normal fingerless glove to his forearm on the other. Red tattoos mauled his slightly paler skin in streaks and scratches across his body. One of these seemed to stretch down his left glove. But what truly shocked them were his eyes. They were golden still, but blank and hazy, containing nothing. No emotion, no life. They were empty.
So far away
"Brother?" Al whispered, daring
to hope that their search had finally come to an end, that his
beloved brother was truly alive after all. Mustang looked at 'Ed'
cautiously. That may look like Fullmetal, but there was no spark in
his eyes, no life in his gaze. Ed's had always been filled with
emotion (no matter how hard he tried to hide it, much to the forever
amusement of Mustang) and a unbreakable passion for life. The blond
shook his head slowly.
"I'm not... your brother." He said
quietly and hesitantly. "Was he... Edward Elric?" Mustang
started slightly. He definitely know the blond somehow, you couldn't
just guess that sort of thing. But how? It was then that the stranger
moved slightly, turning his body away from them. The blood-red
tattoos shone in the light but what had Mustang fixated was the mark
on his left shoulder. It was of a dragon eating its own tail: an
ouroboros. The mark of a homunculus...
Its growing colder
without your love
Why can't you feel me calling your name?
"Who are you?" Mustang barked,
now fully on guard around this sin. He hadn't seen one with such
light hair before, or such strange eyes...
"My
name...is...Pride." Al felt his worry continue to bubble, almost
boiling over in anxiety. Why did he look so much like Ed? Unless...
"Who were you made from? Why are
you here?" He managed to choke out. Pride turned to regard him
emotionlessly for a moment before answering in a monotone.
"I...was
made...from...Edward Elric." He said quietly, barely audible above
the breeze blowing through the graveyard. At this, Al completely
broke down, sobbing uncontrollably on his knees. Mustang immediately
knelt down and put his arm around the boy, in what he hoped to be
silent comfort. On the inside though, he felt like doing the same.
Though he and Ed had never truly admitted openly to being friends,
they had been quite close. At least now they knew why they hadn't
been able to find anything.
Can't break the silence
Its breaking me
All my fears turn to rage
"Why are you here?" Mustang manages to growl out. Pride turns to us and for a brief second, there is a glint in his eye. One that was commonly found previously in the eyes of the Fullmetal Alchemist, the eyes of Edward. But like a flash it was gone, making the two wonder if it had been an illusion or not. The eyes were empty once again.
"He...wouldn't have...wanted you to...waste your life. You have...it for...a reason...he made...sure of it. Don't...just grieve...forever. You have...to...live...and be...free" He managed to whisper. They looked at him in shock. For some reason, it just didn't sound like the sort of thing that Pride himself would say. But either way, they realized he was right. Ed had given them this life for a reason. They couldn't just waste it moping. As they tried to look back up at him to question him though, Pride was gone. Silence fell once again.
And I'm alone now
Me and all I stood for
They stood slowly, and then began to head towards the train station. Ed had been found, just not how they wanted. But there was nothing they could do except go on. They would have to, to make sure they moved on.
We're wandering now
All in parts and pieces, swim lonely
As they boarded the train back to Central however, they never noticed a pair of golden eyes watching them silently before disappearing into the shadows.
Find your own way out
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FINALLY!!! That took ages to write! So I'm sorry if I completely messed up the game for you or whatever but I really just wanted to write this. PLEASE REVIEW!!!