Alphonse had never guessed he would experience the feeling of the rabbit when suddenly a strong flash of light appears in front of it after the darkness of the night. However now he was in the same position. He was frozen. His mind was screaming to him to run…to move…to do something, but his body wouldn't obey. His legs seemed to have rooted to the ground even if they were shaking uncontrollably. Before him there was a scene more terrible than anything he had seen before…and he had seen horrible things. There was his brother…the only person he had left in the world…the person that loved eating, sleeping, learning Alchemy… The person who would yell his soul out every time someone called him "short" in any way… The brother he admired…the brother he loved…
But there he was now…standing in the middle of a pool of blood…all around him were dead bodies…people of all ages and both genders. They were thrown all over the place…fallen where they had been slain, quartered or stabbed to the spot…with their clothes torn and stained with blood. Their eyes were now lifeless like glass and wide open, as well as their mouths, in the last desperate cry for help. Soulless masks of horror that used to breathe and walk a few minutes ago… And his brother was standing there, in his Homunculus outfit holding the scythe there. The scythe was still dripping blood. His brother had also stains of blood all over his body but judging by his soulless gaze…he hadn't noticed much himself. Or more simply he wasn't paying attention to it…
It was clear as day what had happened there and who was at fault. Every soldier that had followed them looked horrified at the scene before his eyes… Even General Mustang couldn't hide his repulse to this (perhaps because it reminded him of Ishbal for one more time) or his shock.
"Full Metal…" he mumbled
Edward turned his head… He was looking at them. Not like he recognized them but just because he heard voices and sounds close to him… His eyes were soullessly cold…lifeless. Alphonse's heart was up to his throat now…beating like crazy… His stomach was twisted upside-down till now too. But…didn't all that blood on his body bother him? Didn't all that metallic stench of death around him make him suffocate? His brother? The one that shuddered even at the thought of killing? The one that couldn't bring himself to create the Philosopher's Stone out of the lives of criminals…that couldn't destroy those armors because he considered them "human beings"…was now standing in the middle of a pool of blood he had shed with his own hands… He was standing close to piles of corpses he had created with his scythe…
Alphonse had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop himself from throwing up.
"N-Nii-san…" Alphonse croaked out
His voice barely came out of his throat. The Homunculus's head turned towards the voice's direction and Alphonse's eyes got lost within the two soulless eyes of Pride's. Those eyes that –Alphonse was sure about that- would haunt his dreams…
"Nii-san…" he thought, "This…this can't be you! This can't be my brother! Why… WHY!"
"Why…" the question came out of his mouth in a barely noticeable whisper
"Iron Soul…" Roy whispered
However Alphonse's ears wouldn't listen to him… He was looking into those cold eyes like hypnotized… He started taking small steps closer…
"Why…" he whispered again
His steps were almost staggering. He was walking mechanically like a robot…like a soulless puppet that its puppeteer was pulling it closer to him with a rope…
"Nii-san…why…"
His boot made a "plich" sound as it stepped on something liquid. He didn't have to look to know… It was blood…blood…so much of it…
"Why…" he whispered again
His face was pale like wax. He indeed felt like a doll now…one of those games that children tuned and the toys would speak… So he, himself, now could speak only that…
"Why… Nii-san I knew…such horrible thing…never… He would never…"
Tears flowed down his cheeks. It was as if before he was so shocked that the tears didn't find their way up to his eyes…but now they did and they were hot. They seemed able to burn his cheeks.
"Nii-san…would never…yet you… I want my brother back!… Who are you? Give him back!"
The last one came out loudly. More loudly than any other word he had spoken till that moment. By instinct Roy held him by the shoulder, however Alphonse tried to struggle from his grip (Roy wouldn't let go) and yelled.
"Give him back! Why! Why would you do such thing! NII-SAN!"
Pride Edward remained there frozen. No emotion carved on his face…like always. And for the first time he turned to see his surroundings… As if it was the first time he noticed them…as if he was wondering whether it was himself the one who did all that… And then, suddenly, his hand holding the scythe…shivered. Yes! It started shaking and…let go of the heavy scythe, which fell to the ground with a loud noise. He then slowly brought his empty hands upwards…closer to his face. He looked down at his empty, blood-painted hands, which were now shaking uncontrollably. Those hands then made their way up to his head…and his fingers tangled into his golden hair…and he bent down his head…
Everyone watching that was holding his breath… What was wrong? What happened?
And then…Pride raised his head and screamed. Yes. He started to scream his lungs out. His face was distorted from screaming. He was moving around screaming as if someone was quartering him alive slowly and tormenting… The sight was terrifying. His intense screaming was piercing Alphonse's soul and his little heart was beating crazily in fear…
From his watching place, Envy started to worry too.
"Pride! What's wrong?" he questioned –of course more to himself rather than someone else-
Meanwhile Pride Ed kept on screaming, holding his head with both hands and constantly moving as if he was struggling with something only he could see.
"Nii-san!" Alphonse tried to approach
However before he had the chance even to finish that phrase of his, Envy appeared as if from the sky (he had leaped from his watching place) in front of Pride and with one strong move punched him in the stomach. Pride's eyes widened by the sudden hit and fell unconscious on Envy's arm. Envy took him on the shoulder as if he were some kind of sack of potatoes and started leaping his way up to the cliff. At the top he looked over his shoulder down at humans with clear contempt in his eyes.
"Damn you, humans! Damn you all!"
And he disappeared leaping away
"No! No, wait! WAIT!" Alphonse screamed but it was too late…
Envy was gone…and so was Pride…Edward…his brother…
Alphonse felt nothing after it. He didn't even feel it when Roy raised him up to his feet from his knees where he had dropped –on his knees…in the pool of blood- to help him back to the cars and then back to Central Headquarters. He didn't feel it when Riza Hawkeye dropped a few drops of brandy to his lips to help him find his color again. Alphonse felt nothing. It was as if someone had cut off all the nerves of his body and so he couldn't feel anything anymore. He was pale as wax that was the only thing he knew. His clothes were stained with blood but even when both Roy and Riza asked him to go home and change, Alphonse was frozen. The tears running down his cheeks…he barely felt those as well… He was feeling like a moving corpse…a corpse that couldn't control its moves and was expecting for others to move it. He didn't feel anything. He didn't hear anything.
The office seemed to start to spin around him and then everything turned black… When he opened his eyes the first thing he saw was almost nothing. He was feeling lightheaded like floating in the air. He felt a gentle hand on his forehead. He looked up to see Riza Hawkeye smiling gently at him.
"Welcome back to the world…Alphonse…" she said gently
"Where…where am I…?" Alphonse managed to murmur
"You are back in your home" Riza explained.
"Oh…"
Alphonse looked around.
"How did I end up here…?"
"You fainted soon after we returned to the Headquarters. So General and I brought you back here."
"Oh…" Alphonse said again and tried to sit up on the bed. He looked around again, "So…where is Roy?"
"He had to leave. He had some business to attend, among others"
"Oh" Alphonse said again.
He then looked down.
"Riza-san…I am sorry…I put you all in trouble…"
"Alphonse…"
Al looked up but felt Riza's gentle hand on his shoulder.
"You can never be trouble. I understand what you are going through is terribly tragic. I understand that it is not something everyone can handle. You are strong, Alphonse Elric. However do not push yourself too hard…"
Alphonse shook his head negatively. New tears poured out of his eyes.
"But…you…you cannot understand! That…that wasn't my brother! That…COULDN'T be…but still…there is no doubt… Oh, Riza-san! I do not know what to do anymore!"
"Shhhh…" Riza softly ran her fingers through his long, brownish-blond hair, "I understand, Alphonse… I understand. And so does General. He has faith in you and he cares about you. And so he does for your brother…"
Alphonse looked down again.
"My brother…" he repeated in a whisper full of pain and sadness
Riza looked at him softly.
"We will get him back, Alphonse. One way or the other we will. And we will bring him back to himself"
Alphonse smiled a small smile. He felt tired…he felt broken… His eyes started to close again… The only thing he felt was Riza's hand pushing him down gently. Then darkness took over him for one more time in a deep sleep like death…
Darkness. Only that could be seen around. The only thing he could hear was the sound of his heartbeat. It was as if he had lost the ability to see… He could only hear his heartbeat…and also…strange things echoed in his mind…
Before I was trapped in the darkness, everything was white
And before the white…everything was stained with red by the blood…
I can't breathe…I can't shut my eyes of mouth…
I can feel that hot liquid on my face…
The blade flashed before my eyes…slicing through their bodies…
That's not right! It should've gone through MY body!
"St-stop…"
Why… Why are the both of you so expressionless? I
thought you wanted to kill me? Why did it have to be them? Answer me!
"St-stop…" he croaked out again. His voice barely left his throat
No…I must have gotten something wrong…
It's a lie! It's just a dream!
Let me awaken… Why won't you say anything?
Tell me…it's just a dream…
Stained with red…they are motionless…
Their eyes aren't even shut… Say something…
"Stop…leave me alone…"
Their eyes are still open…their blood is still warm…
Why have they become cold and stiff…not even moving…?
"Please…leave me alone…" he breathed out again as if he was burning in fever
Everything before me has turned white…
I want to scream…but I can't…
Let me leave this place…leave this nightmare…
Let me be free of this…
"No…no…stop…"
If they are really dead…
Then please let me die as well…
He opened his eyes…he saw nothing but darkness around…and two faces. The one was Envy…and the other was Father. He was like a man in a surgery bed ready to be drugged for his surgery to begin…
"Are you telling the truth, Envy?" Father asked
"Yes! I'm telling ya! Pride started to scream all of the sudden…"
"I see…" Father sounded calm
"He's waking up… He's starting to remember doesn't he…?"
They were talking…as if he wasn't there. However why was he laying there? Why was he feeling so…strange…?
"He won't." Father said calmly, "His mind is blocking all the painful memories. However those are still trying to come to the surface and hurt him…"
Pride noticed some movement. Father had leaned closer to him…
"…I must give him his peace again…"
Father leaned closer…he approached his hand closer. Pride saw the hand zooming in as Father approached it closer to his face…
"N-No…St-stop…!" Pride croaked out.
Or maybe he thought he did. His voice sounded so weak… Maybe he hadn't used it after all…
"Sleep and rest my son…" Father said softly…
The hand blocked Pride's eyesight completely…and Pride was swallowed by darkness once more…
The phone rang in Rockbells' house. A soft, female hand picked it up.
"Hello?" Winry asked
"Emm…hello"
The familiar voice from the other side of the line indeed surprised Winry.
"Colonel Roy Mustang!" she said softly and then smiled to herself, "No… Probably is General Mustang now…"
"Greetings Winry Rockbell… I am sorry to disturb you this hour…"
It was a sweet afternoon and the sun had started to set already, painting the sky with all colors of orange and red.
"No, it's alright" Winry reassured him, "You didn't bother. You just surprised me, that's all"
"I see…" came the short response.
The truth was that Roy Mustang never really intended to call Winry Rockbell if the situation wasn't an emergency. He still couldn't forgive himself for what he did to her parents when he was under orders…and he wasn't sure if Winry had forgiven him too. Especially that day…everything reminded him of Ishbal massacre. Seeing Edward (a State Alchemist) in the middle of a pool of blood…human bodies all over the place…cries and screams Alphonse was making… Oh, it reminded him so many things he desperately wanted to forget in the past! And he had tried everything; Thinking, talking to his friend even alcohol. However nothing seemed to work to him. Those memories were still there. And some of the most painful ones were those Amestrian doctors' corpses to the floor in a pool of blood…and the one of them was holding a photo…the picture of his daughter… Even now it was taking all his mental strength to talk to her.
Winry noticed his nervousness and she could guess that the past was the reason. She wasn't sure if she had fully forgiven him yet. However she knew for sure that Roy Mustang was a kind man that wanted the best for his country. She also knew how much he cared for Edward and Alphonse and how much he risked for their shake…
"Err… How's life in Central?" asked wanting to give movement to the conversation
"Oh…it's fine…I guess…" came the short answer once more
His attitude was far stranger than she had thought.
"Emm…" she hesitated, "Has anything happened? You sound…upset…"
Silence followed for a couple of seconds. Roy was trying to find the correct words to answer, she presumed.
"No" he finally said, "Nothing"
"I see…" she said but she didn't believe him
That was till he finished his previous statement
"At least not to me…"
That last one got her alarmed a little.
"Something happened to Alphonse?"
New silence.
"Many things happened" Roy finally answered after an agonizing moment of silence, "There is a possibility that we have found Full Metal…"
The shock was big enough to take Winry's breath away for a single second. She clenched the phone with her hand.
"Ed…?"
"Yes…" Roy said again, "However things are complicated…way more complicated than that… The entire situation was traumatizing for Iron Soul…"
Even if her heart had reached her throat from agony to hear more, she didn't ask. The situation sounded indeed complicated…the very least…
"So…what can I…?"
"I…I would never ask you this, Winry Rockbell but… But I was wondering…"
He was hesitating. Roy Mustang, the decisive and sometimes presumptuous Roy Mustang, was now hesitating to ask her the favor.
"You are the only one who can stand by his side now…" Roy finally found the words, "He needs you now more than ever…"
Winry understood.
"So…you…you need me come to Central…"
"Yes" there was no reason to hide it anymore, "I believe you are the only one that can give him strength right now… I know you have your job and your clients…however… This whole situation has broken him completely… He needs support…"
"I'll do whatever I can!" she declared
Everything she had now seemed without true value if she couldn't be there for a friend.
"Good… How… How soon can you be here?"
"I can leave with the first morning train." She said
"Good… Thank you. Thank you very much… Of course the Military will cover the expenses of your trip…"
"There is no need to thank me for being there for my family, Roy Mustang…neither you need to cover my expenses… Anyway, I will be there soon…"
"Thank you. I'll send someone to pick you up from the station…"
"Good night, General Roy Mustang"
"Good night, Winry Rockbell"
Darkness soon was replaced from a gray light…and then his eyes opened and cleared once again. He was lieing there again… Envy and Father were over his head. Was he sleeping…? Was he unconscious…? What had happened to him…?
"Hm? Oi, Father! He's waking up…" Envy said with his hands crossed over his chest
There was that tone in his voice again… They were talking as if he wasn't there. As id he couldn't listen. However could he? Or maybe he was still sleeping…dreaming…
"I can see that Envy…"
It was Father's gentle voice again. Pride then saw Father's figure approaching closer with a gentle smile to his lips.
"My son…" he said, "How are you feeling…?"
Pride didn't answer right away… He wasn't sure himself…
"Where…am I…?" he finally managed to mumble
"Back home where you belong"
"What…happened to me…?" Pride murmured again
"Huh?" Envy questioned, "He doesn't remember anything?"
Why? Why were they talking about him as if he couldn't listen? What had happened to him? And why…did his chest feel so heavy…? It was as if a huge rock was on his chest and he had trouble to breathe because of it…
"No" Father said, "I re-started his memory. He remembers everything from his birth and everything before the incident of the village but nothing that happened there…or afterwards…"
Village…? Memories…? He had so many questions in his mind…however were they really worth of answering? Did he want answers? He felt Father's warm hand on his forehead…
"Calm down, my son…" he cooed to him, "I re-started you once more… And you are better than before… I placed part of my power inside you…"
And he continued…
"…Now you can hear my voice…wherever you are…"
…However he hadn't moved his lips at all. As if he had spoken to his mind. Father smiled and pulled his hand off Pride's face.
"Come on, Envy. Let's leave Pride in peace now. He needs rest after what he's been through…"
"Humph! Fine, fine…" Envy said
And the two of them started walking away. Soon they got lost from Pride's eyes… Soon only their footsteps echoed and some seconds later…even that was lost…
Pride remained there…lieing on his back on the rock-hard "bed" of his…gazing upwards in the darkness…
"Father… Village… Memories…" he mumbled to himself…
He felt something warm and liquid on his face…
"Wh-What's this…?" he mumbled wiping his eyes with the back of his hand
…Is it…tears…?
Phew! After so many days of absense I am back in writing my fanfiction! As for the title I will explain you what it means:
It is an ancient Greek Phrase named "Kyknio Asma" which is translated as "Swan Song". It is metaphoical for the "last cry" or the "last act" before the death.
Of course Pride doesn't die in this one. However I wanted to give a dramatic title to express the feelings that overflowed him all at once and all caused by his poor brother who was at the verge of desperation -if not desperate already-. I hope you like it
This chapter is dedicated to and I would like to feauture one of her pictures here art…
Edward appears to have some crisis there! Poor Ed! Poor Al! I hope you liked this chappie and I hope that all of you enjoy my story so far...
Inside there is also Pride!Ed ending monologue the way it appears in the game. For one more time I wanted to keep it the way it was.
Father tried to do something like..."control-alt-delete" to Edward's mind and re-start it without memories once more. Pride doesn't remember even going to the village and slaying people...so Father suceeded...
Or maybe...not!
Edward Pride cried...
Music that would fit watch?v=p1tUy_… (Fullmetal Alchemist Ost Taboo)
[0:31-0:45 Ed's hand shakes, drops the Skythe and looks at his hands, touches his head and bents his head / 0:46 Edward starts screaming / 1:06 Envy punches Ed unconscious and leaves with him]
Please comment me! Enjoy!
