Hello everyone! Siskie here with the sixth chapter to "An Everlasting Mark!" Guys, I just want to take this time to explain why I have been gone for SOOOOO long. 1) I had NO INTERNET for like four months. NONE. I couldn't even get my HOMEWORK for certain classes done! 2) My father, God bless is little soul, has been going through an absolutly horrible time. He is VERY sick right now and I'm pretty much the only one who can take care of him. My mother is not exactly in the best of health either so I've been very busy running to the doctor with him. AND LASTLY) My dear sister is having surgery TONIGHT. LIKE AT 4am TONIGHT. So, I am uploading this to you my dears while I wait in the waiting room.

I am very sorry that this took so long to put up. It just seems like I would try to write this story and then things would come up. However, I have this chapter complete and I look forward to working on the seventh one! Um, by the way...this chapter did not turn out to be quite as long as my former ones. It was sorta a rushed thing. BUT, I will try to edit it in the near future to make it longer!

I love you guys and I'm sorry for my lack of uploading!

Please R&R and as always: Enjoy the story my lovelies!

"There once was a man who made wings out of wax so he could fly, but when he flew too close to the sun, to God, the wax melted and he fell to the ground."

Edward shook his head, willing his eyes to open. He could have sworn someone had been speaking to him. Sitting up and searching around the room lead him to spot the man in the black cloak that had been tending to him. "Were you…talking to me?" Ed choked out hoarsely. The figure did not respond. Edward swung his legs over the edge of the bed, his head spinning for the briefest of moments, before he stood up. He closed his eyes to will the pain he still felt away.

In that moment Edward saw memories play before his vision. He remembered the eerie man, the knife as it entered his stomach and the scream from his brother. Ed could remember the argument earlier that day with Mustang about how "irresponsible" he was and the talk with Winry on the phone about his father showing up on her front porch. It all came pouring back so quickly. Edward felt his knees hit the ground before he acknowledged the pressure he felt within his chest. Slowly sliding his golden eyes open Edward gasped out loud at what he saw before him.

"You understand now, don't you petit?" The cloaked figure breathed. Although Edward could not see him, the feel of the figures breath as it ghosted over his left ear was enough to know where he was. Edward's golden eyes were wide as they began to take in the scene that lay before him. The room was very white except for one object: a metal suit of armor sitting beside the lone bed in the room.

"That-That can't be…." Ed stuttered. He continued to scan the room as the hooded man laid a hand upon his shoulder. "I am afraid it is, petit. You must understand now about the world you have created. This is how you are in the real world. While you lay there in a hospital bed fighting for your life, you are alive and well in the place you have created."

"You were saying something before I woke up." Edward whispered, still in shock at the sight of his own body lying in front of him. "Something about flying? What were you telling me?"

"You know what it is petit. You were told the story since you were very young." The figure moved to sit beside him as Ed shut his eyes again to will away the scene. He wished not to stare at himself like that for much longer. Sure enough, as if done by his will, the vision of the hospital room vanished and instead left the scene of vast water and sand.

"He made wings out of wax so he could fly. But when he got too close to the sun, to God, the wax melted. And he fell to the ground. You remember the story, don't you petit?"

"The story of Icarus. Of course I remember. My father-he use to tell Al and I that story before…well…before he left." Edward hung his head a little. "What does that silly story have to do with anything?"

"There is more to the story, isn't there petit? You know it. You simply choose to ignore it."

Edward thought on that for a moment. Was there more to that silly story that he had been told as a child? All he could remember was how the father and son wanted to escape their imprisonment so they devised a plan to fly from the window. Icarus, the son, had been so excited about his freedom that he foolishly flew too close to the sun and then the wax that had held his wings together melted, sending him to his death.

Sighing in defeat, Ed shook his head. "If there is more to it, I can't remember it. What does that have to do with my doing here? You said I needed to learn more about this place. I have, I now understand that this is not a physical world and that I only exist because I have decided to be here. And I now understand that I created this place as a young child. What more do I need to know?" Edward said bitterly, standing up and glaring down at the figure. "You won't even tell me your name, and you won't let me see your face! How do I know you're even here? How do I know I can trust you? It seems like every time I am around you something bad happens!" Ed was screaming now, his face beat red. He began to clench and unclench his fists in agitation (a habit he picked up from Havoc).

The figure simply stood up in front of him. "I told you my name. You must not have heard it. And I hide my face for a reason. If you were to see it, you would not like what you see."

Edward tilted his head slightly to the side, most of his anger subsiding. "What the hell do you mean 'wouldn't like what I see?' Would you just tell me what the hell you want?!"

A sigh escaped from beneath the hood of the man. "Fine. I will once again tell you my name, however; I refuse to show you my face. Understood?"

"What happened to 'this is the world you created?' Shouldn't that mean I have the right to know? Did I create you too or are you someone that I knew that ended up here?"

"One question at a time, petit." The hooded man chuckled. "You were always so eager to learn things."

Ed's face once again turned red; however his temper was not boiling. "Just answer me. Tell me who you are, and this time no riddles."

"Very well, petit. If you must know so desperately I will tell you."

There was a long pause between the couple as Edward waited to receive the information that had plagued him since he was found by the man. It was all so strange, almost as if the cloaked man was otherworldly. There seemed to always be an aura around the figure that Ed could almost place. It was almost as if it was one that he was around often enough to remember it, but there was also a sense that he did not know it at all. The figure cleared his throat and startled Edward back into reality.

"My name, petit, is Phanuel." (1) Edward's eyes widened slightly. Phanuel? As in his Phanuel? The imaginary character he created, Phanuel? Ed shook his head in disbelief.

"You mean…the imaginary character that I dreamed about and started talking to when I was five? You mean that Phanuel?" Ed scoffed slightly, "Seriously? Okay, now I know I'm in some horrible dream!"

"You are not dreaming, petit. And I was not exactly 'created' by you. You see, I am an angel. Your guardian angel, to be specific."

Edward's jaw dropped down to the ground at Phanuel's words. "You're an angel?"

"An archangel to be exact, but yes, I am. I was sent to watch over you, and to see that you fulfill your prophecy."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ed exclaimed, his arms doing frantic wiper motions in front of his face. "What do you mean prophecy?!" Ed's voice screeched an octave in his hysteria. "You're telling me that I am supposed to believe that you-you're some fucking archangel whose job is to see my prophecy fulfilled?! Look, buddy, I don't know who you think you are, but I have had just enough of your psycho conversations! I am leaving!" With one last shake of his head, Edward began heading inland, and was quickly trying to come up with a way to build a raft. He had attempted to use alchemy early and found it to be of no use. With his injuries and his inability to preform alchemy, Edward was pretty much a sitting duck and he did not like how Phanuel, or whoever the hell he was, was acting. It was just better to distance himself from the creep as much as possible, find a way to get off of this stupid island, and get home to Al and Roy. Yeah, that was all he needed.

A hand resting itself upon his shoulder made Ed freeze to a stop in his movements. "Petit, please, would you just listen to yourself? You're acting irrational. You saw for yourself what this world is. Now, I need to explain a few more things to you and you will be free to enter your world once again. I promise that no harm will be done to you."

Edward slowly turned around to look up into the cloaked face of his "guardian angel" and frowned. "You're my guardian angel, huh? Okay then, show me your face."

"Petit, I told you, I cann-"

"I remember what you looked like when I was little; I dreamed of you, if you really are who you say you are. If you really are the Phanuel that I remember from my childhood, the one that I remember talking to all the time when I was upset, then I will believe you. However, if I have any doubt that it is not the real Phanuel, I will leave and you better not try anything funny otherwise I will have to resort to murder, got it?"

Phanuel only chuckled. "Oh, you mean like the time you wet the bed and Alphonse wouldn't let off of you? Oh yes, I remember the conversation we had about that. You had nightmares for weeks that you would do it again and that your entire family would hate you. What an adorable naive little thing you were, petit."

Once again, Edward found his jaw hitting the floor. "How the hell-" Ed began, but he did not finish his sentence. Instead, the memories of talking with Phanuel came flooding back to him so quickly he could not clearly see them all. He did, however, remember the fondness he had towards the man. It was almost as if he was a father to Ed.

Without thinking through with his action, Edward wrapped his arms around Phanuel and began to cry. "I haven't seen you in years. I thought I was crazy or something when I was a kid. Where the hell did you go? You left me." Phanuel sighed and returned the embrace back towards the older Elric.

"I am sorry I have been gone for so long, petit, but I promise I am here now. I promise I will be by your side for what you will have to endure, and this time I am not leaving. I will be in the real world with you shortly after you return."

Edward pulled back slightly and looked up at Phanuel with shock. "You'll be coming with me?"

"Yes, petit. I'll be coming with you." Phanuel forced Ed into another hug. It had been a very long time, but he still watched over the boy from afar. When those damn homunculi decided to enter the scene backing off was his only option. Now, now Edward was safe and sound.

"Now," Phanuel said while clearing his throat and awkwardly letting go of Edward with a pat on his shoulder. "About your future, petit. There is something you must know."

"And it has to do with that stupid story…right? Care to elaborate?" Ed chuckled, sitting back down in the sand with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his legs. "I remember my father saying I had to memorize the story, but I only ever memorized the lines you spoke. They basically summed up the story and I didn't feel like listening to him. I was a little kid. Guess that's kicking me in the ass now, huh?"

Phanuel sighed, "I suppose so, petit. However, there is far more to that story than what you remember. Tell me, do you still have dreams of the end of the world?"

Ed lowered his eyes, "Yes, every night."

"Is it always the same way?"

"You know the answer to that."

Phanuel merely hummed in response. Edward wasn't quite sure where all of this was going. To be entirely honest, he was completely confused. What did his dreams have to do with the story he heard as a kid? What did any of this have to do with anything? Phanuel noted the expression crossing the young one's face and decided it would be best to begin the process explaining.

"Well, petit, the story continues from where young Icarus died. There is much more."

"You mean to tell me you knew there was more to the story, but you kept trying to squeeze it out of me when I knew nothing?!" Ed shouted with daggers focused on Phanuel's form.

"I was trying to see if you remembered, now be quiet." Ed silenced himself and relaxed slightly with a glare still evident on his face. "You obviously remember the part of Icarus-"

"Just get on with it already, Phanuel."

Phanuel cleared his throat, "As I was saying, since you already know that part there is no need to repeat. What you lack to remember, petit, is the story of the 'Golden Angel' whom will descend upon Earth from Heaven when man had learned to fly." Needless to say the look that filled Edward's was enough to laugh at. With his eyes set wide and his mouth hanging open in complete shock, Phanuel summoned up every last part of his will power not to burst out laughing and knowing full well if he even so much as chuckled, injury towards his body would most definitely be evident. "The 'Golden Angel' would bring with him a child, a golden child, to right the world and restore it back into balance." (2)

"Hold on a second!" Ed shrieked, shaking his head back and forth. "You mean to tell me that some 'golden angel thingy' came down from the sky to have a frickin' kid?"

Phanuel nodded. "Yes, precisely. However, you did not let me finish, petit. There is more to the story than just the birth of a wonderful child."

Edward felt dumbfounded. "Okay…so what else is there?"

"The 'Golden Child'-"

"Do you have to refer to them as 'golden' all of the time?" The silence from Phanuel that followed his question made Ed shut up for good. Phanuel then continued with the story.

"The 'Golden Child' was born unto the angel and his earthen wife. It is prophesied that the child would grow up to live through many tragedies and also conquer a feat that others before him could not. It continues to say that the end of the world will be upon them on the child's seventeenth birthday."

Edward sat silently as everything he had just heard sunk in. An angel came to Earth and had a child with a human. His child would then grow up to become an admired person among society, but he had to have gone through some very horrible events in his life. Finally, when the child turned seventeen, the world would supposedly end. "What happened to the child?"

Phanuel paused before he answered. "He devoted his entire life to his younger brother."

It was with that phrase that everything clicked. Edward slowly raised his head from the sand to look out beyond the water. He kept very still and very quiet as he processed what he had understood from what Phanuel had told him. With his vision still focused out to sea, Edward sighed. "You're not just telling me this as a bedtime story, are you?"

"No."

"Of course not, because that would have been too fucking simple."

Phanuel laughed. "You catch on quick, petit."

"Just a few questions." Edward pressed. "Icarus existed hundreds of years ago. Why now?"

"Love sometimes takes a while to find. Your father found it within your mother."

Ed thought that one through. It seemed to make enough sense to him. "Okay, next question. The incident with mom…was I supposed to go through that? Was Al supposed to suffer?"

"Edward, let me assure you. What happened to your brother was not your fault. You need to understand that there are higher powers working against us. What I do know is that he will be restored. I cannot show you how, but you must trust me when I say he will be returned to his body."

Ed nodded in response. "Last question. Why the hell do you smell like Mustang?"

Phanuel chuckled. "I'm so proud of you." He teased. "The first step is admitting."

"Oh, shut up. I've come to terms with that a long time ago. Just answer my damn question." Edward glowered, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I did it to comfort you while you were here."

"Liar."

"Excuse me?" Phanuel asked, taken aback.
"You've always had that scent. Explain."

Phanuel sighed for what seemed the hundredth time during their little conversation. "Very well, you wish to know?"

"Yes, goddammit! That's why I'm asking!" Edward huffed. He glared at Phanuel. "Take off your hood. Let me see."

"You already kno-"

"I said let me see."

Against Phanuel's best judgment, he did as the Elric asked, and what Edward saw confirmed his memories and his fears. He had hoped that it was simply due to the fact he was around the man twenty-four hours a day almost every day of the week. That perhaps his memory of the past and his memory of the present had somehow mixed, thus confusing the two faces. What Edward was witnessing now shattered all hope that he had simply forgotten.

Phanuel frowned, dark onyx eyes clouded over while short ebony hair was caught by the wind. The sadness shone bright within his pupils. "I told you. I tried to keep you from seeing this."

Edward stammered. "…You…but…" Shaking his head for the very last time, a look of shock gracing his face, Edward swallowed hard. He simply muttered one last word.

"Roy."

A.N.: (1) Phanuel: Archangel who was said to interpret revelations. Yes, I looked it up. However...the rest of what he looks and acts like is all me. :D

(2) I COMPLETELY MADE THIS FRICKIN' THING UP! I swear, I had a dream where Ed was an angel...and it sorta went from there as you can see. XD

Hope you all liked this chapter! Please R&R and I will be back soon with Chapter Seven! Chao!