Hey~ Sorry it's a little late; I had a marching band competition all day Saturday (in which we scored a superior! Woot! XD) so I haven't had much time to work on this chapter. Although, I'm very happy to say that there are no more band practices, so I'll probably be able to get up the last chapter sometime during this week. :D

Enjoy~ ^.^

Al could only stare blankly at Rina. He didn't know why, but for some reason he had pictured her having been tricked into going with Avalier, that at the time she was so confused and frustrated about her family, that she was willing to listen to him. That once she had realized what he was really doing, she'd definitely try to leave him. Definitely. So why then…Why was she standing there as though everything was normal?

"Rina…" Al murmured softly. She didn't even look at him as she took out her blade, the one she had first pulled out in protection when Avalier had first shown up. Now she was going to use it to fight; to fight them.

"Brother," Al whispered suddenly.

"What is it, Al?" Ed asked in an undertone, still in a defensive position.

"You go on ahead," Al replied, not taking his eyes off of Rina. "I'll stay here."

"What?" Ed hissed. "Don't be an idiot; you're injured and facing two enemies–" Al flinched, but Ed seemed not to notice, "–there's no way I'm leaving you to fend for yourself."

"Rina isn't an enemy," Al insisted, keeping his voice low. "Besides, there's no point in both of us staying here; you need to go and find Winry and I need to get Rina to realize what she's doing."

"Al, she's fully aware of what she's doing," Ed muttered.

"Brother," Al pressed, his voice insistent. "We can't waste time here." Ed hesitated, glancing between Avalier, who couldn't hear what they were saying, and Rina, who stood firmly in front of them. "Go." His voice was firm and full of his belief that they would all get out of this okay; they always had, no matter what the situation had been. This would be just the same.

"Al, just…" Ed trailed off, then turned to meet Al's eyes for the first time since they had gotten here. "Be careful, okay?" There was something about Ed's words that sent an ominous chill down Al's spine, but he couldn't place why. "I will see you when this is all over, okay?"

"I promise," Al replied, the ghost of a smile touching his lips. "Does that make you feel better?"

"Not really," Ed said truthfully, smiling grimly. "Just come out in one piece." With that, he spun around and ran right at Rina, leaping over her in her moment of surprised hesitation and bolting through the door she had just come out of.

"Stop him!" Avalier yelled, but a moment too late. Al had already clapped his hands together, just like he had so many hundreds of other times before, and had sealed the door shut with a wall of stone transmuted from the concrete floor in a flash of brilliant light.

Avalier cursed under his breath before practically flying through the other door in the room, calling behind him, "Take care of the kid!"

Rina's bewildered expression instantly changed into one of apathetic determination. She rushed forward, then swung her dagger at him. He sidestepped, the blade whirring a hairsbreadth from his face as he stumbled back. "Rina, wait!" he cried, but Rina only swung her dagger again, this time catching him on the sleeve and cutting into his skin.

Al gave a short gasp of pain. Rina took advantage of this moment of distraction and kicked him square in the chest, sending him flying into some sort of equipment. He landed with a crash, hardly able to breath from the air that had been knocked out of his lungs. Coughing, he looked up to see Rina above him, her dagger pointed right at his neck.

"Any last words?" she asked coldly, staring down at him as if they were strangers.

"Rina…" Al said, his voice full of disbelief. Ed had been right; she knew exactly what she was doing. Her eyes told him as much. "Why are you doing this? Joining Avalier? Fighting us? Is revenge really so important to you that you would throw everything away?"

"It doesn't concern you," Rina gritted out, tightening her grip on her dagger.

"When someone's trying to kill me, I think I am concerned in the matter," Al retorted mildly. "Please, Rina…"

"I don't need you telling me what to do," Rina snapped. "Without my family, what do I have to live for? You don't understand! At least you've still got your brother! I've got nothing to live for!" By the last word, her voice had cracked, and Al saw the lonely, sad little girl that she really was behind her fierce and lone wolf countenance.

"Rina, there's always something to live for; sometimes you just have to look to find it," Al murmured. "You don't want to do this; if you do, you can never go back. You'll regret it for the rest of your life."

Rina's eyes hardened again. "Don't tell me what I want to do with my life. That's my decision alone." Raising her blade, she drove it straight down at Al.

---

It was dark. Then again, it had been dark for the past few days. Rolling onto her side, Winry winced as she moved her shoulder the wrong way. She still wasn't sure what exactly had happened the night she had been abducted; she only knew that somehow her shoulder had been hurt and that Ed had collapsed. She couldn't stop wondering if he was okay, if Al and Rina had found him when they returned from investigating at the military base. She hated not knowing. For all she knew, everyone could be dead.

"No," Winry mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "Don't think things like that." She was in a small room with no light, and no furniture. There was a door on the wall in front of her, but no matter how many times she had tried, she couldn't open it. She had heard noises, muffled through the door, come in occasionally, but they were just the sound of footsteps that never stopped walking, and murmured conversations that she could never actually hear. No one had even shown up at all. And she was starving.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Winry asked the empty air, her voice raspy from lack of water. "Rot away in here…?" She shuddered at the thought. Maybe if I could just get some sleep, she thought. For some reason, she started wondering what Ed had been doing the two years before he came back home. He had said something about a Gate to Al, but had seemed reluctant to explain it to her. She was just beginning to drift into a state of semi-unconsciousness when the sound of loud pounding footsteps brought her back to reality.

It wasn't like she had never heard people walking by her door before, but this was different somehow. No one had ever run by in such a hurry, and there was something uneven about the sound of the steps. Almost like…

Dragging herself to her feet, Winry stumbled over to the door. "Ed?" she called as loudly as she could, which wasn't very loud at all at the moment. "Ed, is that you?" She started pounding the door with clenched fists, wondering if he could even hear her.

"Winry, stand back," a muffled voice came through. Winry had scarcely taken a few steps back from the door when it blew past her in a flurry of sparks and light. In its place stood a frantic-looking Ed. He looked tired, but his eyes were lit up with a fierce light when he saw Winry. For a moment they just stood there, neither of them saying anything.

"Ed," Winry whispered, never feeling so much love, pain, or relief flow into that single word as she did now. She took a step forward, then fell as her exhaustion retook her. Suddenly Ed was right next to her, holding her so that she wouldn't fall. He had his arms wrapped tightly around her and he was…shaking.

"Ed, are you okay?" Winry mumbled distantly. "You didn't go breaking my automail, did you?"

"Winry, I'm sorry," Ed whispered. "I'm so sorry. If I had just listened to you in the first place, if I had thought for even a second…"

"It's not your fault, Ed," Winry said, shaking her head. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"We have to get out of here," Ed said suddenly. "We're in that Colonel Avalier's base, or whatever it is. It isn't safe."

"Ed…there's something I need to tell you," Winry murmured, gripping the front of his shirt tightly and burying her face in it.

"It can't wait until we're out of here?" Ed asked.

"No," Winry answered, shaking her head again. What if she never got the chance to say it? It was now or never. "Ed, I love you; I always have. You don't know how much it hurt when you when you disappeared two years ago. When you came back…" Tears were sliding unbidden down her face now, but she didn't wipe them away, didn't want to. "When you came back, I was so happy." She started laughing now, a shaky laugh that was partly choked off through her tears. "Don't disappear again."

"Winry," Ed whispered, his finger lifting her chin up to look him in the eyes. She was scared to look there, afraid that he might think she was being an idiot or, even worse, to see that he didn't share her feelings; that she would be rejected. But his eyes were soft with concern and gentleness, a look she rarely saw on his usually guarded face.

"I love you, too, Winry," he murmured.

Hardly without realizing it, Winry had her arms wrapped around Ed's neck and suddenly their lips were pressed together. His hands were pressed gently against her back, and her fingers were resting lightly on his chest. She felt her face heat up, but she didn't care. All she could see, hear, think, and breathe was Ed; and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

"My, look at the happy couple, reunited at last," a chilling voice said from the doorway. "I suppose being together was the one thing you didn't lie about."

"Mr. Dublin," Winry gasped. Ed had turned his back to her and held his arm out in front of her protectively, facing the newcomer.

"What are you planning?" he practically snarled. Winry detected an undercurrent of worry in his voice, but she couldn't understand why. Her confusion was answered a moment later when Ed said, "Where's Al?"

Winry felt a wash of guilt flood over her. She had been so concerned about Ed that she hadn't even thought about Al or Rina. But why hadn't Ed asked about her? Had Rina not come? Or was she…? She couldn't even bear the thought, despite only having known her for a few months.

"Oh, I'm sure he's out of the way by now," Avalier commented nonchalantly, sounding bored even. Ed tensed, but didn't move. "You know, I did my research very thoroughly on that girl before I invited her to help me," Avalier continued. "She's very skilled, you know. It wouldn't take long for her to finish off that already wounded dog of the military." Winry had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently Ed did, for he rushed forward with his right arm drawn back as if to punch Avalier.

However, when his fist connected, it was to Avalier's own; a metallic clang sounded, and they both stood there, neither backing down, but Ed's face filled with incredulity. "Automail?" he asked.

Avalier laughed, then swung his leg around and kicked Ed squarely in the chest, sending him skidding back into the wall. Winry could only watch in horror as she realized what was going on as Avalier took off his coat. Under it, he wore something closely resembling armor, but she knew that it was the full-body automail that they had been working on. The parts moved smoothly as he lifted his arms, as though they were really a part of him.

"Say your prayers, Full Metal!" Avalier yelled, charging to where Ed was shakily standing up.

"Sorry, but I don't believe in a god," Ed muttered, and struck his hands together with a resounding clap.

---

The blade whistled straight at Al's face–and past his ear, striking the ground with a sharp metallic clang. Rina stood above him, her face set, but with a different expression. "My decision…" she whispered, letting her bangs fall to cover her face. "My decision is to go back to the way things were."

Falling on her knees, Al saw the glimmer of tears as they ran down Rina's face. She choked down the sob that was threatening to rise, and suddenly cried, "This isn't fair! I…I never asked for this! For any of this!"

Without thinking, Al wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him as though he would never let go. Maybe he never would. He had expected her to pull away from him, but instead, she just cried even harder, hugging him tightly and letting her head rest on his shoulder.

When her sobs had died down to little more than gasps, Al murmured, "Nothing is fair. We just have to live as best we can, making choices that we'll be satisfied with in the end. Some are luckier than others, but only those who know true pain can know true happiness, too."

"I'm so sorry, Al," Rina whispered, pulling back to look at him in the eye. "I…"

"It's okay," Al reassured her, standing up. "Right now, we need to find Ed and Winry. Do you know where they might be?"

"No," Rina admitted sorrowfully. "They never told me where Winry was."

"Then we'll just–" Al started, but was cut off from a loud explosion up above. A cloud of dust fell down on them, along with a few chipped pieces of ceiling tile. "Found them." Looking back at Rina, he asked, "What's the quickest way to get where that sound came from?"

"Follow me," Rina told him, turning and running through one of the doors, Al close on her heels. They followed a series of winding staircases, then took a sharp left. After running down a slightly curving path for a long while, Al could start to hear the sounds of fighting again. Right as they reached an open door, it burst outwards into the hall, scattering fragments of the wall along with a familiar person.

"Brother!" Al yelled anxiously. Ed sat up, but with an obvious effort, and looked over at Al and Rina.

"Glad to see you're okay," he mumbled quickly, but his voice was filled with relief. He glanced over at Rina, then must've decided that she was back on their side again, because he said grudgingly, "I need your help."

"If there's anything I can do to help, I won't hesitate to do it," Rina promised quietly, her eyes on the ground.

"Figures you'd turn traitor; then again, you already had," a voice said from the busted doorway. Avalier appeared with it, holding Winry in one arm while simultaneously sealing her mouth shut with his hand. "Too bad you figured out my secret," he said to her. "You were a great help in designing this, even though you didn't have a clue. I would've liked to have had you as an assistant, but I suppose it's too late now."

"Mmmff!" Winry screamed, struggling to get loose.

"Let her go," Ed warned in a dangerously low voice, standing up. He was holding his left arm with his right, blood trickling down it from a large gash. He was unsteady on his feet, too, even though Al knew how hard he must be trying to not show his weakness.

"The part!" Winry yelled, momentarily freeing her mouth before Avalier had closed it again.

"Damn you, girl," he cursed, but Ed and Al already knew what she meant.

"Al!" Ed said, glancing at his brother.

"Yeah," Al replied, the both of them agreeing on their silent plan.

Al rushed forward at Avalier, veering left to right quickly to try and hide his movements. Avalier tossed Winry effortlessly onto the floor a few yards away, where she landed with a muffled oof! Suddenly, his clenched first flew out and hit Al right in the stomach, knocking all of the air out of his lungs. But more than that, he felt something pierce his stomach; he could almost feel the blood start trickling out of where he was hit as he was sent sprawling on his back on the debris-littered ground. He caught a glimpse of the hand Avalier had struck him with; on the knuckles, four spikes stood out, long, sharp, and covered in scarlet blood.

Then Avalier was standing above him, a sword drawn and being pulled back for the final blow. "Good bye, and good riddens," he snarled, and then he stabbed the sword down. Everything seemed to move in slow motion; he heard Ed and Winry call out his name, and something–someone–moved right in front of him. He stared with blank shock and horror as he saw the tip of Avalier's sword protruding straight from Rina's back. Avalier, in front of her, looked just as surprised, but not nearly so anguished.

"Rina!" Al screamed. "Why…?!"

"I found what I wanted to live for, Al," Rina murmured, then broke off into a cough as blood dripped down the side of her mouth. "And I decided…that I would die for that, too."

Avalier pulled his sword out of Rina with a sound of disgust, and she crumpled instantly to the ground in front of Al. "Rina, no!" Al cried, cradling Rina in his arms. "You were supposed to live! Dying is just as bad as running away! Please, Rina…don't leave me!" His gaze was blurred with tears as he watched Rina's eyes slowly clouding over.

"Heh…guess you won't…be able to show me around Resembool…huh, Al?" she asked faintly.

"No," Al whispered. "No, Rina. I promised…I promised you I'd protect you. Why is this happening?"

"Sorry, Al," Rina whispered. "Guess…what you said was true. Life really isn't fair. But this is a choice…that I decided on my own. And I wouldn't change it, even if I could. Al…I love you more than anything else in…the world."

"Rina," Al repeated. It felt like all he could say was that single word as he felt her slipping away from him forever. "I…I love you too."

Rina smiled at him faintly.

Without Al having realized, Ed had come up behind Avalier and stabbed his automail arm, transmuted into his usual blade, right between the ex-colonel's shoulder blades. A spark flew, then, with a horrified look on Avalier's face, his automail armor exploded in a burst of roaring flames.

Ed was thrown back against the wall behind him by the ferocity of the fire. Winry stumbled over to him, holding him unyieldingly as soon as she reached him. "Al!" Ed called through a wall of quickly spreading flames, but the sound barely reached Al's ears. There was a black dimness closing in on the edges of his visions, and when he pulled his hand away from his stomach where Avalier had hit him, it was covered with dark blood. "Hurry, come over here!"

Looking to where Ed was standing, frantically trying to get to him, Al slowly shook his head. He heard the distant sound of crumbling walls, sounding like thunder as the building started falling in on itself. "I'm staying, Brother," he said, and as he said those words, a momentary silence seemed to fall over them.

"What are you saying, Al?" Ed asked, his eyes wide with horror as he saw Al's wound. He started shaking his head slowly, as if trying to convince himself that what he saw wasn't real. "Al…Al, you promised! You promised we'd make it out of this together!"

"Sorry, Brother," Al said. "I guess it just wasn't meant to end that way. I'm going to stay…with Rina." He glanced down at Rina, who was still just barely breathing, and locked eyes with her for a long moment before looking back at Ed. "Don't forget me, Brother."

"Al!" Ed screamed, but the roof above them fell and separated them. The last thing he ever saw of his brother was his weak smile as he gazed lovingly back at him. Choking down a cry, Ed grabbed Winry by the wrist and recklessly threw himself out of the window, the glass already having been blasted out.

They landed heavily on the ground, but surprisingly, it wasn't the hard concrete of the street. When Winry looked up, they were surrounded by troops from the military, officers frantically shouting commands to each other as everyone ran around busily. She spotted Hawkeye a few feet in front of them, and when their eyes met, she turned away, instantly understanding.

A single cry cut through the night air, unnoticed by the rest of the world; uncared for by those who knew nothing of the hearts that had been broken, and could never be fixed.

…Don't hurt me! D8

So, in the end, I decided to base the end off of the ending of one of my favorite animes: Chrono Crusade. Such a good anime, though the manga was better; look into it if you ever want to read a really depressing/funny/epic series. I think I might have overdid it in a lot of places though… =\ I was so depressed writing this chapter… T-T

Please review! Only one chapter left~ ^.^