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We hope that you all enjoy the next chapter! ^^

Chapter Eight

The Road to Recovery

Fallin's eyes fluttered open. She was in an unfamiliar room. She looked over to her right and saw Guardian in a bed like her, although the Light Alchemist was still battling her wounds from the battle. Her face had more color to it and she was breathing steadily now. Then she turned her face to the left and her eyes met those kind golden ones of Ed's. He smiled at her. "I'm so glad you're finally awake," he said in almost a whisper, placing his hand on hers. She clasped it. "Thanks, Ed. You saved us back there."

His eyes filled up with tears. "But I still let you get hurt back there, Fallin. Why did you take that bolt for me? I could've taken it." Fallin shook her head. "No, Ed, you don't get it. Guardian and the others needed you. You're the best alchemist we have, Ed. They didn't need me. And didn't I say I had to protect you, Edward?" she said, looking at Ed sternly.

His eyes opened wide in shock, but then they softened. "There is nothing I won't give to keep you by my side, Fallin. So don't do that to me again, okay? I thought I'd lost you forever," he whispered, brushing back her bangs with his other hand. Fallin smiled, her eyes filling up with tears this time.

Someone knocked on the door. Both Fallin and Ed jumped. "Uh, come in!" Ed called and Fallin giggling hysterically. Ed went to remove his hand from hers, but she held it tightly. He looked back at her and smiled. Fai opened the door. "How is she?" he asked. His eyes went to their intertwined hands, then back to Guardian.

"She's better," Fallin spoke up. Syaoran poked his head in around Fai. "Can we come in?" he asked. Fallin nodded. Syaoran went right to her side, Sakura trailing him. He reached for the pocket watch on the bedside table, but Fallin put her hand on his, shaking her head.

"Wait until she wakes up. She wants to see it, you know," she said. He nodded. "I hope Guardian-san will be alright." Sakura nodded her agreement, holding a sleeping Mokona in her arms. Then Sakura turned to Fallin. "Thank you, Fallin-chan, for helping me get the feather back. And you too, Edo-kun. You were both so brave. I hope someday we will come back to Amestris." She smiled, a warm smile that made the room ten times brighter.

The door burst open and Vic crashed in. "GUARDIAN!" he called, tears streaming down his face. He flew to her side, knocking over Syaoran. Yep, Fallin thought, he turned into Tamaki-senpai again. Typical. "It's alright, Guardian. Daddy's here now." Fallin laughed, throwing her head back. Then Ed started laughing and pretty soon, everyone was laughing, too. Vic turned around. "What?" he asked.

Bekah-chan came in after Vic, catching sight of Fai. Her face turned bright red when he looked at her with a smile. "Oh, hello again, Fai-san," she stuttered. Fai knelt down to her and gave her a smile. "Thanks, Bekah-chan. You are a really brave Ranger," he said, patting her head.

Then Guardian stirred with a small groan. Everyone turned to her and soon her eyes opened just a little bit. They shot open when they saw Vic staring down at her with a huge relieved smile on his face. She jumped a little, then looked around the room at everyone. Then she looked dead on at Fallin. "Thanks, Fallin," she rasped, her voice almost a whisper from lack of use. "And you, too, Ed. All of you...thank you. I couldn't have got the feather away from the Homunculi without all of your help." Then she looked at Syaoran and nodded. He reached for the pocket watch and opened the lid.

A bright light shone from it and the feather levitated above it. Everyone stared at for a second or so, taking in the glory of the feather. The feather then floated in the air towards Sakura. Golden ripples cascaded around her chest as the feather melted into it. The bright light shone once more, then died once the feather returned to its rightful place. Sakura's eyes turned blank, then closed as she fainted into Syaoran's arms. He looked up at everyone, noticing their worried faces. "She's alright now, just sleeping."

"Wow," Guardian whispered. "That was truly incredible." They all murmured our agreement and Syaoran looked at Guardian, eyes shining. "Thanks for all your help, Guardian–san. I can't even begin to tell you how grateful we are for all the help you gave us." She nodded with a smile, her chocolate brown eyes welling up with tears. "You're welcome, Syaoran. It's a part of being a Ranger, that's all."

Fai came up to Guardian's beside and said, "I would like to check your wounds one more time before we leave, if I may."

Guardian nodded and she started to sit up slowly so that Fai could check the wounds on her back, but she was still weak and in pain from the day previous and Guardian felt her body give and fall backwards. But Fai caught her, being careful of her wounds, and helped her sit up. Vic sat down beside Guardian and she laid her head on his shoulder before pulling the sheets around her and pulled the back of her t-shirt up to her shoulders, revealing the bandages wrapped around her left shoulder, chest, abdomen, and back.

Then Guardian gently pulled her left arm out of the sleeve of her shirt before Fai undid the bandages on her left shoulder first. Everyone gasped when they saw the wounds just under Guardian's clavicle and a few inches above where her heart would be and knew that it was the same on the back of her shoulder as well. Fai checked them and was relieved that they were healing properly and weren't infected. Then he placed a hand on Guardian's uninjured shoulder and said, "I'm going to check your back now. It might hurt a little when the bandages come off though."

Guardian nodded as she put her left arm back in the sleeve of her shirt then pulled the sheets to her chest. Vic and Fallin were a little surprised that Guardian was willingly letting Fai take care of her. She wouldn't let anyone but the female Rangers and sometimes Vic take care of her when she was injured other than the doctors at the hospital. But for some reason, Guardian knew that she could trust Fai with her injuries from the previous battle. Fai carefully cut through the bandages and slowly started to peel them back and off Guardian's body, trying his best to save her from as much pain as possible. Guardian whimpered a little bit from the pain, but Vic took her hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Soon the bandages were off and Fai sighed in relief that the slash marks were healing nicely and weren't infected. Then Fai raised his index and middle finger on his right hand and glowing letters in the language of his home world flowed from them. They wrapped themselves around Guardian and the wounds started to fade away, leaving only three diagonal scars on Guardian's back. The letters faded into nothing once they finished their job and Guardian pulled down her shirt once Fai was satisfied that her wounds were healed.

"Thank you, Fai," Guardian said and Fai gave her a smile.

"You're welcome, Guardian," Fai replied. "But even though I healed your wounds, I want you to give your body time to recover and recuperate. Give yourself a month or two for your body to recover than start rehabilitating yourself slowly. That means no using Narsil for a couple months, but I think that you'll still be able to use your alchemy. Just be aware of your body's limits."

"All right, Fai, that's a promise," Guardian said before she noticed that Vic looked downcast and his eyes were on the sheets of her bed. "Vic, what's wrong? Are you all right?"

Vic looked up at Guardian with tears in his eyes and she knew that he had seen her wounds from the battle. "No, I'm not, Guardian. I thought, if only for a moment, that we were going to lose you last night. When they brought you back to Headquarters in the condition you were in... I was so scared that you would probably die."

Guardian's eyes welled up with tears and she said, "Oh, Vic. I'm so sorry if I worried you. I didn't know that I was going to get hurt as badly as I did during the battle...but I'm just glad that no one else in our group was badly injured as well. I knew that I was probably going to get hurt retrieving Sakura's feather, but I decided to do it because I knew that I was the only one who could get it and escape the way that I did yesterday. Plus I needed the others to make sure that Father and the Homunculi wouldn't be able to follow us. Plus, do remember what it says in John 15? 'This is the very best way to love. Put yourself on the line for your friends'."

Vic smiled and said as he pulled Guardian into a hug, "Yes, I do. You're such a brave and kind girl, Guardian, and I'm so proud of you."

"Thank you, Vic," Guardian replied as she hugged him back letting a few tears fall from her eyes.

"Well, I believe that it's time for us to go now," Syaoran said as he gathered Sakura into his arms. The group stepped away from Guardian's bedside a bit before Mokona jumped out of Sakura's arms, great wings spreading from its back in a flash of rainbow light. "Mokona Modoki, ready to go! Bwah, hoooooo!" it cried, a circle spreading out on the floor, encircling Sakura, Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane. They all waved.

"Goodbye! I hope we all meet again!" Fai called. Kurogane smirked, and Syaoran waved earnestly. Mokona cast out swirls and sucked them all up in its mouth. "Bye bye!" it called as it jumped in the spinning circle and it faded away.

Everyone stared, mouths agape for a second or two. "Wha- what just happened?" Vic asked. "I think they just crossed dimensions," Fallin choked out. Then she looked down, tears falling steadily. "I just can't believe they left us that quickly, after all that we went through." Her voice trembled, and her shoulders started quaking. Ed simply wrapped his arm around her. She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

"They need to keep searching for Sakura's feathers," Guardian said, looking at her bed sheets. "They have no time to waste, plus they can't risk someone else as powerful as the Homunculi and Father getting a hold of one of the feathers."

Guardian looked up at Vic, and he gave her his trademark smile. She grinned back at him, then Vic helped her lay back down again pulling the covers over her. Guardian settled back under her covers and fell asleep once her head hit the pillows. "I just hope their journey goes well. They almost lost it here. They can't afford a risk like that in another world, one without us." Vic said in a low voice, so that only he and Ed could hear. Ed nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know if I'd be okay if it wasn't for this one here," he said, looking down at Fallin, who had cried herself to sleep in his arms. "She saved my life. Now all I can do is protect hers... just like I've been protecting Alphonse." As if she had heard what he had said, Fallin wrapped her arms around Ed's neck and smiled in her sleep.

Well, everyone is okay and recovering and the Tsubasa gang has left Amestris, but there is still some more to tell. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :D