"Edward…" Alphonse turned to the entrance. He saw Melita standing there.
"Melita…?" Melita's heart dropped. Although this boy in the suit of armor didn't show emotion, his voice made up for it.
"What do you want?" Edward asked, not turning away from the wall.
"Ed… You're gonna catch a cold…" Melita said, "Come on, let's just go back to th-"
"You want us to just go back? As if nothing happened?" Edward raised his voice higher with each word, "What kind of person would do that!? After…. After all this?! You're no different from Tucker…"
No different? Perhaps that may be true…
"What is that suppose to mean...?"
"Leave us alone!" Edward shouted.
Alphonse watched as Melita ran away. He turned to his sibling, "Brother…"
.
.
.
Melita stood at a phone booth. She had her suitcase by her foot.
"There must be some other way…" Melita spoke to the receiver, "They're not going to tolerate me now."
"Tough luck, kid. You're gonna have to fix the mess you did. Say, were you the one that provoked Tucker?"
"… What makes you say that?"
"Let's be honest here… He wouldn't think of that unless he was truly desperate."
"When I visited him last night, the man was insane. He lost all his common sense. What makes you think he wouldn't do it?"
"True… But if you were the one to provoke him, it will become even more troublesome."
"Calling you was no use…" Melita sighed.
"Remain where you are. I'm sure those two will forgive you some way or another…" Melita was about to hang up when she heard him shout, "… Hey! Wait!"
"What?" Melita pulled the phone to her ear again.
"You're in East City, right? Keep an eye out for those two. Especially the pipsqueak… There's this man there. He doesn't bring good news…"
"…"
.
.
.
Edward shot up in his bed the next morning. He was short of breath. Outside, the skies were still crying rain.
"I found out Melita left…" Edward heard Alphonse say, "You said some terrible things to her…"
"…" Edward hugged his automail leg.
A few hours later, Edward stepped out into the cold rain. He walked around and ended up sitting in front of a clock tower. He let the rain consume him. He watched as the droplets of water fell from his strands of hair. Depression was slowly eating him away. If only he had foretold this sooner… If only he was able to save this girl. Why was the world so cruel? An innocent girl is now dead due to the regulations of being a state alchemist. Perhaps it would be better if he had just given up his title. Maybe he should march straight into that office and do that very thing.
"Brother… This is where you've been hiding…" Alphonse walked up.
"You know, Al… I came out here to see if the rain could drown out my sorrows… It might help me think things clearly… But my mind is just spinning in circles. It's going back to square one… Back to finding a way to make things right… How can I return you to your original body…? What if I never told you about human transmutation…?"
"Come on, Ed… Don't blame yourself for that… You know as well as I do that we wanted to see mom smile one more time… Be with her a bit longer… But nothing turns out the way you expect it to and you end up paying the price," Alphonse looked up at the greyed sky, "Even though I can't show any emotion… I still feel sad. Even though I don't have a heart, it still hurts…"
"And now… I've even hurt someone who was only trying to help… I really am a bad person…?"
"Edward Elric, I assume…?" Another voice joined into their conversation. Edward looked up just as a roll of thunder growled. The moment he laid eyes on this man, he got chills down his spine. He was dangerous.
There was a loud crash and it was not thunder. Rubble and dirt covered the sky. Edward and Alphonse ran away from the scene.
"I don't get it! Why is this guy after me?! It's not like I did anything to make some enemies…" Edward paused, "Okay… I take that back…"
"Brother! In here!" Alphonse hid inside an alley.
"But he saw us run in here…" He watched as his younger brother transmute. The walls of the buildings stretched and covered the entrance, "Nice going, little brother!"
They had begun running the opposite direction. Edward noticed a growing crack running along the wall. The other end of the wall was closed off by the destruction of the walls.
"Wha…?" Edward and Alphonse turned around to meet their doom. The man slowly walked towards them, "Who are you and why the hell are you after us?"
"If there are creators, then there must also be destroyers." He spoke. Edward took note of his appearance. Dark skin and grey hair. He seemed to have a cross in the shape of an X on his forehead.
Edward clapped his hands and touched a nearby pipe. He pulled out a large sword. The brothers readied their stance and charged at once. The man slipped between them. His arm charged right before touching Alphonse's torso. The armor shattered. His leg was broken off and a large gap took over the majority of his torso. This had surprised the man, it was empty.
"Al!" Edward glared at the man as he charged, "You son of a…!"
The man grabbed his right arm. Again, his arm charged and electricity blinded them. The force threw Edward back. Edward looked at the damage. His sleeve had been ripped apart. He then decided to remove his coat.
"Automail…" The man noted. He looked over at Alphonse who was on the ground, unable to move, "And that one over there is an empty suit of armor."
Edward transmitted a blade out of his automail.
"Edward, no!" Alphonse shouted, "Run away!"
His brother paid no heed. The man readied his arm, preparing for the upcoming attack. In an instant, Edward was once again in the grasp of his enemy. He was able to graze his cheek. Edward prepared for the worst. The man tightened his grasp on the automail. Alphonse watched as his brother's automail arm had been destroyed to tiny, little pieces.
"Brother!" He shouted as he watched his brother fall to the floor. Fear coated Edward and pain circulated through his nerves. The man towered over him.
"You're only after me, right?" Edward asked, "Then promise me one thing… You won't touch my brother…"
"My only goal is to kill the Fullmetal Alchemist… Anyone else who interferes will be annihilated. But if that is your last request, then I'll see to it."
"Ed! Stop! Get up and run! Stop it!" Alphonse shouted. He tried to move but his armor only broke more pieces. Slowly, the man raised his destructive arm and placed it on Edward's head.
"Edward!" Alphonse screamed.
Blood dripped on Edward's face.
"Guh!" Edward looked up to find the man had been replaced. She was standing up tall, full of determination.
"Melita…?" Edward asked.
"Hey."
