Ok, so obviously I'm not goiung to be updating every night. But I will try to every Saturday or Sunday. Mainly cuz thats the only days I have free. You can blame school for that, and if you really like this story, you can burn down my school. I wont mind.

Chapter 4~ She loved him

Nobody in the room moved. Nobody felt like it. Once or twice one of the adults would try to make small talk with someone, but that quickly died away as soon as it started. Everyone knew that planning a funeral would be hard, but nobody realized that it would be down right awkward. Awkward and morbid. That's what it felt like in the small hotel room. Meas, Gracia, Roy, Riza, Pinako, Winry, and Alphonse sat there just waiting for someone to officially start the funeral plans for Edward.

Every single person in the room had an invisible force weighing down everything they did. Losing a beloved one is never fun. It can take years to get over it, but the worst part is actually preparing to bury them and say goodbye forever. They weren't ready to say goodbye. He was so young, he had so much fire in him, that it felt impossible he could have died.

"Well, I guess we should get started. What Alphonse and I were planning on doing, was that we would have a funeral here in Central for all of you guys and such. Then we would take a train back to Resembool, where we would have another funeral and bury him there." Pinako spoke out to the small group nof people.

Meas nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, that sounds good. It's only fair that he would be buried in his hometown, with his family."

Pinako gave a ghost of a smile in thanks and proceeded to talk about the funeral.

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Why couldn't you do it?

Edward groaned and turned over.

You can't die here. And yet you gave up so willingly without a fight.

He let out an annoyed breath and closed his eyes tighter. Someone was trying to wake him, and he really didn't appreciate that.

Can you honestly let your little brother down like that, little alchemist?

Edward's eyes flew open. It was one thing to call him litt- not of average size, but it was a completely different thing to question his ability to provide for Al. No one did that.

You cannot die here, alchemist.

Where was that voice coming from? He tried to open his eyes wider to get a better look at his surroundings. His eyes wouldn't open though. Why wouldn't they? Panicing slightly, Edward went to rub his eye, only to flinch back and let out a string of curses as he blinked a few times. Ok, so his eyes were defiantly open. Why was he still seeing black though? Was he blind? Then he realized something, everything was pitch black, and he just couldn't see. Feeling relieved a little, Ed sat up.

Get up and find a way out of there.

"Huh? Who are you?" Edward asked the invisible voice.

Get out. Now. Before your stuck here and then transported to the other side.

"Tell me who you are!" Ed screamed into the black oblivion. "What do you mean I have to get out before I'm transported to the other side? The other side of what?"He didn't like not being able to see. The person could be twenty feet away, or even right next to him. The person could be waiting to attack him, and he would be deffenseless.

Ed tried to make out something, but the darkness seemed to stretch out forever. He stood up and put his arms out in front of him. Ed walked forwards slowly, trying to see if there was a wall or at least something solid to hold onto. Who ever the person was, they were right. He needed to get out of here.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" Ed asked the voice.

He received no answer from the voice. This unnerved Ed a little. Had something happened? Ed kept side stepping to his right. His automail hit something and a soft clang resounded throughout the gateway. Ed's left arm shot from his side and felt along the structure he had bumped into.

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"Alright. That seems fair. We will have the first funeral infront of Central, for all of Edward's friends here." Roy told Pinako.

"Yes, and then we go back to Resembool for the family one." Pinako agreed with him.

"Will you and Ms. Rockbell be attending the one here?" Meas asked. The three adults were huddled in the middle of the room, talking about Ed's two funerals. The were trying to be quiet, so they didn't upset Al or Winry. Who were huddled together in the corner farthest away fromthe adults, while they stared blankly at the wall.

Pinako turned slightly and looked at Winry's emotionless face. "No, I don't think the poor girl can stand being in the same room as Edward now. She loved him, you know."

Meas nodded his head and sighed. "Yeah, and he was way too dense to notice. Do you think she will move on?"

"I don't know, that's completely up to her. But if I had to guess, I think she will. It's gonna take a long time, but maybe with Al here, she can do it."

Roy let the other two adults talk about Winry's love life and went to go sit down by Lieutenant Hawkeye. She mumbled a greeting, ending it with sir, Roy could only guess how she felt about this. The woman always kept her emotions bottled up inside of her.

"How are you dealing with this Lieutenant?" He asked slowly.

Riza sighed pushed her bangs away from her face. "I'm fine sir."

Roy gave her a skeptical look and crossed his arms in a child like manner. "No your not. Tell me how you are feeling about this."

Riza gave up her facade. "To be honest, sir, I really don't know. It's hard to believe that Edward is really dead. Just a week ago, he was running around, being loud and brash as always. Now, the office is way too quiet, it makes everything feel so morbid."

Roy could only nod. He knew how she felt. Even though he would never admit it, Roy wouldn't mind being called a bastard for the rest of his life, if it meant that Ed would still be there. He wouldn't mindit at all. It was like a thing they had, it was his and Ed's thing. Edward would burst into his office, he would crack a joke or two on the young alchemist's height, and Ed would call him a bastard for the rest of the day.

"I just wish there was a different reason he died. It was a stupid grudge, he wasn't even old enough to know what the word war meant. Why did he have to die over such a stupid thing?"

Even though it was a retorical question, Roy still answered her. "It was because I sent him out there. It's my fault."

Riza looked up at her superior officer and frowned deeply. Had he always felt this way? Roy was looking at the opposite wall with a look of dread on his features. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't give the orders to post him out there, ho could you havve known that something like that was going to happen?"

"I should have known. Good never comes out of messing with an Ishvalan camp. I could have stopped it. He was only a liitle kid, he didn't deserve to die because of something that ridiculous."

Riza could only offer what little comfort she had. "You know, Edward would have gotten mad at you for calling him little and a kid."

"Yeah, he would have."