FINALLY FANFICTION LETS ME UPLOAD THIS. I'm sorry this is late; blame the site. x.x;;
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Central Headquarters
Al had arrived at Headquarters at Five A.M. He looked around and spotted Mustang and Hawkeye sitting down waiting. Hawkeye was looking over files on her clipboard and Mustang was drinking coffee. With a wave, Al ran up to them. "Good morning."
"Morning Alphonse. How are you?" Hawkeye asked.
"I'm good; just worried about Brother. When are we going to head out to the forest?"
Mustang took a sip from his coffee. "As soon as everyone gets here. I don't know what's taking them so long."
Hawkeye finished looking at the papers and put her clipboard down. "I spoke to Fuery last evening. He said he would be a little late. The radio equipment we need to listen in on Leon is taking him longer than expected to get."
"Well that's terrific," Mustang said with an audible sigh.
A few seconds later Havoc walked in. "Well Boss, I canceled the date. I hope you're happy," he sobbed dramatically.
Mustang sighed. "The rescue of Fullmetal is more important than a date, Havoc."
Havoc pulled out a cigarette and sat down. "Well, that's easy for you to say. You can get any girl you want."
Al watched the scene wondering what he could say to cheer them up. After all, they were working so hard. He felt guilty and wished he could rescue Ed on his own so that the others wouldn't have to cancel their personal plans. Even if he mentioned the idea, he was certain that Mustang would say no. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, hoping nobody heard.
To his dismay, Havoc asked, "For what?"
Alphonse jumped a little in his seat. "Oh! Uh, it's nothing; honest. I was just talking to myself, that's all."
Mustang looked over in his direction and placed his coffee cup down. "Alphonse, there is no reason for you to apologize. We are here because we all want to see Fullmetal safe."
Havoc nodded. "Yeah. I'd hate to see something horrible happen to the chief. I really don't mind canceling the date, as long as Ed gets found."
"Edward is a member of our team," Hawkeye said without looking up. "We are all willing to risk our lives to bring him home."
Al's armor started rattling, indicating that he would be crying. "T-thank you. You are all such good people. Even if Ed doesn't show it, I know he appreciates having you guys around him."
"It's not-" Before Mustang could finish, the doors swung open and Fuery, Falman, and Breda walked in.
"Sorry we're late, I needed a little help putting the equipment into my car," Fuery said.
"That makes everyone. Lets g-"
Suddenly, the door busted open for a second time."GREETINGS! I HAVE RETURNED FROM MY LUXORIOUS VACATION; AND AT THE PERFECT TIME IT SEEMS, AS YOU JOURNEY ON YOUR HEROIC QUESTS TO RESCUE EDWARD ELRIC!" Armstrong shouted. All of them were taken aback by him randomly appearing. He walked over to Al and grabbed his hands. "I can't imagine the deep sorrow you must feel," he cried. "It must be terrible knowing that your brother could be anywhere. Yet even so, you never gave up hope. You carried on to rescue him! IT IS A TRULY BEAUTIFUL BOND!"
Al stuttered for a moment before replying, "U-uh t-thanks?"
"I MUST COME WITH YOU! THE ABILITY TO HELP EFFICIENTLY HAS BEEN IN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!"
Mustang looked over at Hawkeye. After she nodded, he replied, "Fine. You can come."
"EXCELLENT!" Armstrong shouted. "NOW ONWARD WE GO TO RESCUE THIS POOR BOY'S BROTHER!"
They walked out to the cars. Armstrong and Al were in the back of Mustang's car, with Hawkeye and Mustang in the front. Fuery, Breda, Falman, and Havoc went in the other car.
As they drove off Al hoped Ed would be okay. 'We're coming Brother, just wait a little longer.'
The Haze
Ed and Al sat at the kitchen table, across from each other. He'd given Al a drink because he had figured he would need it. Most people would after finding out they're not real. "Listen Al, this is going to be hard to explain, so I need you to bear with me."
Al nodded. "I'm prepared for anything Brother."
Ed chuckled slightly. 'Definitely not prepared for this.' "Okay. There's this guy named Leon. I forgot his last name because it was long and a bit hard to pronounce. Anyways, he is also known as the Mirage Alchemist. I was sent on a mission to capture him and bring him into questioning. Well, some things happened, and I was kidnapped by him."
Al looked at him, puzzled. "Kidnapped? I don't remember that at all."
Ed laughed slightly. "There's a reason for that; let me explain. He kidnapped me and a few other people for their negative energy. As you should know, we can transmute by harnessing natural energy. Well, he had the crazy idea of harnessing the energy that flows off of a human being. I forgot some of the details, but it was something along the lines of positive energy being weak and negative energy being strong. Since he can create illusions, he had the damn idea to trap people in a false reality and give them hell. He used his alchemy and some machine that he made to do this. Everyone trapped here has to see a fake of their loved one die again and again, and it's all just for the sick purpose of making him stronger."
"W-what are you saying?" Al stuttered, his eyes growing wide.
"You've died countless times Al."
Al gasped. "What are you implying? Are you saying...I'm just an illusion?"
Ed sighed sadly. He pitied the fake Al. "Well, yeah." Al didn't say anything for a full minute. Getting worried, Ed waved a hand in front of his face. Not getting a response, Ed tried gently shaking him. "Al! Are you okay? Answer me!" He shook him some more, becoming frantic.
"...Don't call me that," Al whispered.
Ed sighed in relief, glad that he got some response. "Are you okay? Of course you aren't; this is a lot to take in."
Al looked up at him and started shaking. "I-I'm not real? I'm a fake? An illusion you created in your mind!?" He rose from his chair, panic coursing through him.
Ed put a hand on his shoulder. "A-Al, calm down. It's going to be oka-" He winced; Al was squeezing his arm extremely hard. Before he knew what was coming next, Al punched him. The impact caused Ed crippling pain. It hurt more because it came from his own Brother. Ed fell back, now shivering himself. "A-Al I d-don't blame you for being confused and angry. I don't blame you for being hurt too. Please calm down; we can work this out."
"Shut the hell up!" Al shouted, his face getting wet with tears. A mix of fear and anger was plastered on his face. He tried to avoid looking Ed in the eye at all costs. When Ed finally caught a glimpse of Al's eyes, Ed gasped. They were full of hatred, something Ed had never seen in them before.
Ed stood up and wondered what he could do to help. This wasn't like Al at all. "Please Al, try to calm down."
"STOP CALLING ME THAT! THAT'S NOT MY FUCKING NAME!" Al shouted and once again punched Ed.
Ed fell back again, deep in his mind thinking he deserved this hatred and pain. He had caused Al so much, and this was all it had taken for him to reach the breaking point. The use of profanity caught Ed off guard, since he knows well that Al is a pure soul who never liked using those words. He didn't fight back. If Al wanted to lash out on him for all the crap he caused him, that was perfectly okay with him. "Go ahead, I deserve it. I caused you so much pain over the years. I thought you hate me," Ed said, avoiding looking anywhere but the ground.
"No, you didn't cause me anything. BECAUSE I'M NOT THE REAL AL!" This time, Al clapped his hands and transmuted a knife. Ed found himself unable to move; fear was clouding his common sense. He wanted to back away from Al, but at the same time, felt he deserved it. What happened next wasn't what he expected to happen. Al held the knife up to his own neck. Ed's ability to move arrived once again as he sprung into action. He pulled the knife away from Al and tackled him. Now on top of him, Ed kept both of Al's hands pinned so that he wouldn't hurt himself. He placed the knife into his coat pocket and panted.
"W-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Ed was deeply concerned and now beyond scared. Did Al just... try to kill himself? Not by the hands of the Haze or some other force, but himself? Ed wondered what he was supposed to say to calm Al down. Before he could do anything, Al suddenly got the upper hand. He rolled over so that he was on top of Ed. Once his hands were released from Ed's painful grip, he transmuted the floor to bind Ed. After that, he ran to the closet. Ed looked down to make sure that the knife was still in his coat pocket. He sighed in relief when he saw that it was, and wondered what on earth Al was doing in the closet. Ed's breath hitched when realization hit him. The gun. Ed struggled and painfully loosened the binds.
He ran to Al and tried to grab him, but it was too late. "Goodbye, fake brother," Al said as he turned the safety off the gun. With the loud bang, Al shot himself.
Ed fell to his knees in complete shock. Al's blood went everywhere, including on Ed's face and clothes. He released a loud, agonizing scream and burst into tears. His body shook with every heart-wrenching sob. Of all the deaths, even lightning, this was the most horrific. He sat there, crying his eyes out. His little brother had committed suicide, and he was completely powerless to stop it.
"No more. No more no more no more!" he repeated fast and desperately. He glared at his clone that sat across the room, smirking. "Leave us the hell alone. I've had it! I can't take this anymore!" he shouted, still crying. He felt like a pathetic child. A hopeless, pathetic, child, who could never do anything right.
"Oh, how sad. Better try again," his clone said, venom piercing each word.
"I want to get out of here!" Angry tears rolled down Ed's face. He wiped his eyes, in doing so also wiping off some of Al's blood that had landed on his face. He had to stay strong. He had to stand up and fight! He shakily rose to a standing position.
"That's never going to happen. You know as well as the rest that it's hopeless."
"No."
"Unless you can break the loop or somehow malfunction the system, you're not getting out of here."
"NO."
"As you can clearly see, the others from one, two, three years ago are still there. That's a total of one thousand and ninety-five days. One thousand and ninety-five deaths, one thousand and ninety-five tries, one thousand and ninety-five failures."
"NO, NO, NO!" Ed knew it was all true. "I'll find the way to malfunction it!"
His clone laughed. "Knock yourself out trying." As he said that, Ed's eyelids grew heavy. Unable to stay awake, he fell down next to Al and slipped into unconsciousness.
