Chapter 25:
(A little note for my readers:
It has been a long journey for Emily, and for all of us. However, her journey is not yet over and this final chapter of her beginnings is just that, a beginning of a long journey to find herself. I love that you all have followed me so loyally and I hope with all my heart that you will return to read the next installment of Emily's journey Metal and Melting when it becomes available. I must warn you that this chapter will be split into multiple parts, and many questions will go unanswered. That is, unless you feel like taking the plunge with me and diving head first into the second installment of our young Miss Hagravens tale.
There will be love and loss, passion and violence. This I promise you all.
With all the love in the world,
Added-OC)
Part 1: The meeting place
"Scar?" Emily approached the bulky man as she slid the glove into place on her right hand. She had chosen to leave the left hand glove alone in the end and had tucked it away safely in her back pocket. He jumped a bit at the sound of her voice and turned halfway to look at her over his shoulder from where he sat on her front stoop. In his hands was a picture album full of images of her parents and their many partners whom they had become acquainted with on their missions around the country to unite the medical forces. She smiled as she squatted down beside him with her crossed arms resting on her knees and looked at the old faded photos.
"It is strange to think of others as a part of a family." Scar stated as he pulled the page to open it to the next. Her heart stopped for a moment when she caught sight of a man in a long white lab coat with blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail that brushed the area in between his shoulder blades and the rest of his back. His eyes were a light amber color that matched his stern yet youthful features. She shook her head as the thought that Edward would look like that one day crossed her mind.
"Is something wrong Hagraven?" he asked she looked up into his dark red irises before closing her eyes and turning her head away from the book.
"Nothing that man was around my parents a lot when I was growing up. His name is Hoienhime." She said as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand. She was uncomfortable at the sight of the mans eyes. They looked kind enough as he smiled down at her father who was holding a book up proudly and pointing at a passage that she could not make out, but for some reason she felt that there was something much deeper behind his eyes that she could not put her finger on, it sent a chill of dread down her spine.
"Is this man, trouble?" he asked as he rested his finger next to Hoienhime's face. She looked over her shoulder momentarily before turning back to study the rose bush that was partway through dying next to the front stoop.
"I'm not sure, I was too little to remember him clearly." She stated as she pulled a dry leaf from the plant.
"He seems familiar to me somehow." Scar stated as he flipped to the next page. She looked down at the glove covering most of her right arm, its whiteness stood out against her lightly tanned skin and made her forearm seem more defined and muscular. It was smooth and silky against her skin and gave off a cool refreshing feeling where the fabric met her skin. She turned her palm over and ran her finger along the outside of the bright red array that was carefully inked into the white silk.
"I see you finished it, was it tested?" he asked, she jumped a small amount when she realized how close he had moved to study the intricate array.
"Yeah, it worked on the stone fragment my father had in his study." She said as she clenched her fist. A thought came to her mind then, the glove was her mothers and the array was her fathers. As long as she carried it with her she would always have a piece of them, she would have their spirits in her heart always and forever. She looked up with a gentle smile upon her face, towards the heavens where her parents would be looking down upon her from.
"Then you will have no problem going through with your plans then?" he asked as he closed the book and his eyes in unison. She flicked the leaf away as she glanced at him with a shrug.
"As long as I can get near their chest, Roy told me once that their hearts are the stones so as long as I can get my array on their chests then it should melt them into puddles." She smiled slightly as she spoke, dreaming of fulfilling her revenge against them for what they had done to her.
"You seem nice as far as an Amestrian goes, but deep down you are just like those military dogs who destroyed my home." He stated softly before letting out a sigh. She looked at him with a shocked look in her eyes as her mouth hung slightly open.
"I think she is more like you, actually." He eyes widened as she turned to see a man, or was it a woman, standing before them wearing a dark black shirt that was cut off around their midsection and a tight pair of pants that only reached the area above his or her knees. Their dark green/black hair shone where the sunlight hit it and the tattoo at their side was that of the Homunculi. She stood with her fists clenched at her sides and her knees bent slightly, ready to attack the imposer if needed.
"She's all set for revenge, just like a stupid Ishballan I know who pouts and cries just because a bunch of people who look like him died." The person chuckled loudly after they spoke and pretended to wipe away a tear as their eyes locked on the two now standing on the bottom step.
"Who do you think you are you little twig?" Scar asked as he growled and clenched his fists beside her.
"Who am I?" as the person spoke they seemed to shimmer and their features shifted, growing taller and gaining muscle mass while losing hair. Before a heartbeat had ended the figure of Major Armstrong stood before them with a cocky smirk on his face, "maybe this is me." They stated before their image shifted again. As she blinked a mirror image of herself stood before her, "Or maybe this is me." Her doppelganger grabbed their own breasts and squeezed them with a sickening grin across their features, "Oh I like this body, so many curves." They chuckled once again as they locked eyes with her, "But then again..." she gasped as they shifted once again, become the image of Edward standing before her, "Perhaps the pitiful child prefers me as her Fullmetal eye toy." They laughed once again causing her stomach to sink. Her fists shook as her anger grew against the being before her.
"Stop it!" she shouted as she closed her eyes, "You are a homunculi! You and your horrible friends have done things to me and many others that are beyond unforgivable!" as she shouted her lips quivered and her eyes watered with angered tears. They returned to the form that had first been presented to Emily and Scar and smirked as they rested their fist on their hip.
"You really want to know who I am little crybaby?" the smirk on their lips caused her eyes to widen and her body to freeze up in shock and fear, "I'm the beast that tasted your pitiful mommy and daddy's blood. I am the fear that courses through your veins every day!" they smirked as they bent at the waist to lean their upper body forward, towards her, "But little crybaby, you can call me Envy." They smiled showing a row of sharpened teeth that made her blood run cold.
"It- it was you." Her eyes twitched wildly as she stared down her parents murderer, her accusation hung in the air as a mixture of anger, hate, and pain boiled in her gut.
"That's riiiiight!" the thing, Envy stated almost happily as she glared at them.
"You bastard!" she shouted as she moved to rush at him, only to be stopped by Scars large hand clamping down on her shoulder.
"You can't let anger blind you in a fight." Scar stated as he pulled her swiftly behind himself with one arm. She looked up to see his red eyes staring calmly and coldly at the one before them, "I see now, I see what you have suffered at the hands of this beast. You are nothing like I thought and for assuming so I apologize. Let me deal with this." He did not look down at her as he spoke; instead he kept his eyes trained on Envy.
"Scar?" she asked as she looked up at the man's profile. He seemed protective and reminded her of her father from back when he had protected her from a feral dog when she was just a young child.
"Until you calm down, I cannot allow you to fight him. You do not need cold blood on your hands." Scar narrowed his eyes at Envy as he spoke.
Edward was sitting in the passenger seat of Havocs car with his right foot braced against the dashboard and his automail hand clutching onto the metal loop that made up the top portion of his window frame. The glass of the window that was halfway rolled down rattled against the metal of his arm as they bounced along the uneven road leading to Emily's old home. He had asked Havoc to ignore the speed limit signs but the man had not slowed down once since they had settled into their seats. They barreled around the next bend in the road so quickly that Alphonse was flung against the opposite side of the car from where he had been previously sitting.
"Get a seatbelt on Al!" Edward ordered as he shouted over the squeal of tires against the rough gravel road. The sound of screeching rubber and metal intermingled as Alphonse hurried to fulfil his brothers orders. Ed sighed as he turned his eyes on Havoc who was focusing on the road ahead of them.
"We only have another mile or so before we reach her road. Her parents' house was the last on the street so if she is there we should know it before we even reach the driveway!" Havoc shouted over the sound in the car as he took a sharp right turn, the two passenger wheels of the car came up off the ground as he did so.
"There's no need to kill us!" Edward shouted as his automail bent the doorframe as he squeezed it tighter in fear of his own life.
"Hey I happen to be an excellent driver!" Havoc shouted as the car slid sideways onto Emily's old road. Edward and Alphonse both screamed in fear as the tires squealed and shook beneath the car. The entire car vibrated with the force of how fast they were going.
"We can slow down now right?!" Alphonse shouted fearfully as the car peeled towards Emilys home at full tilt.
"You were the ones who told me to ignore the speed limit." Havoc smiled around his cigarette as he quickly shifted gears and slammed his foot down on the brake pedal. The cars body shifted wildly as they were sent into a wide spin that caused the brothers to scream once again while Havoc chuckled under his breath. Edward caught a brief glimpse of Envy before he was flung forward into the dashboard.
"I think I hit someone." Havoc smirked as the car came to a sudden stop. The front of the car had been folded in a V shape around a very angry Envy. Edwards's eyes widened as he raised his head to lock eyes with the purple irises of the Homunculi. Envy smirked before bringing his fist down on the crumpled hood of the car, sending it flying over Envy's head and tumbling through the air towards Emily's house. Ed's and Emily's eyes met and fear grew in the pit of his stomach, followed quickly by anger as he watched Scar grab her by the waist and leap to the side in a fraction of a second.
Emily cried out as Scar and her landed harshly on the ground. She had seen Ed's bright golden eyes when the shadow of the car fell over her, his eyes that were so worried, relieved, and scared at the same time. She was so full of both joy and dread as she had looked into his eyes, then just as suddenly as the moment happened, she found herself sliding across the harsh stone that made up her old driveway.
"Edward!" she cried out as both she and Scar pushed themselves to their feet. The car had crashed through the front of her childhood home, demolishing half of the structure in one go. She felt the sting of the small stones along her arms as she gazed at the scene before her, watching the three figures emerging from the dust cloud that the wreckage had created. Alphonse was holding Havoc under one arm and Edward was propping him up under the other.
"Some driver," Alphonse was saying as they neared her. She rushed towards them but stopped short when she saw the look of pure anger in Edward's eyes. He handed Havoc off to Alphonse before angrily stepping towards her. She backed away a few steps only to bump into Scars large chest. She jumped as the man's hands landed upon her shoulders.
"I knew it was you!" Edward accused, causing her to make a frightened sound and jump once again, "You kidnapped Emily, you and that bastard over there!" Edward jabbed his finger at Envy as he spoke without even looking at the Homunculi.
"Awe, I missed you to Pipsqueak." Envy smiled as it cooed at Edward.
"Whose so small they can't fill a thimble?!" Edward demanded as he turned to shake his fist angrily at Envy, who simply raised an eyebrow and pointed one long thin finger at Edward in return. Scar pulled Emily behind him as the blonde growled at the Homunculi who laughed almost happily at the show of complete anger.
"It isn't safe." Scar stated as he pushed her completely behind himself, she couldn't tell if he was glaring at Envy or Edward as he spoke. She backed away from him a few steps as she attempted to see past him to the two squaring off before them. Alphonse sat Havoc down against a fallen wall and turned to face scar with a loud clunking noise that told Emily that his armor had been injured at some point in their crash.
"Scar, hand Emily over. Kidnapping is a low even for you." Al sounded older as he spoke, yet his pitch was the same in the voice that drifted out from the armor.
"Alphon-" she began to call out to him but was cut off abruptly by Scar.
"I warn you metal boy, I will protect this child with my very being." She looked up at his profile with widened eyes as Scar spoke. Edward had turned to face them when Al stated Emily's name, even Envy's interest seemed peaked as he glanced at her with a small smirk.
"Kidnapping an innocent girl is not protective in the least!" Edward shouted as he clenched his fists before himself. Her own fists clenched at her sides as her eyebrow twitched in anger at the entire situation.
"I WAS THE ONE WHO KIDNAPPED SCAR!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. Envy's smile broadened as he tilted his head to one side. Edward and Alphonse looked on at them in utter confusion. She looked around at each silent male before taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly, only then did she continue.
"Scar is not trying to harm me in any way." She stated as she looked down at her feet, "He helped me get away from both Lust and Gluttony back in the city and has stood guard over me the entire time we were here. If it wasn't for Scar I would have been killed or worse by those guys already so please stop bickering over the past for once and just focus on what's important here!" she pointed to Envy as she shouted her request.
"I feel so special!" Envy exclaimed as they placed their hands against their cheeks and smiled merrily.
"Shut up you sumbitch!" Edward growled before turning to face Scar, "I don't forgive you for what you have done to my comrades." He stated sternly as he approached the taller darker man, "But, if what Emily is saying is true and not something you are forcing her to say you have my gratitude," he held out his metal hand to Scar as he spoke, Emily noticed that by doing that he would avoid coming into contact with Scars deconstruction arm if they were to shake hands, "Emily is very dear to me, you aren't the only one who wants to protect her. I would lay down my life for hers." He stated as his offer of a handshake rested before the man.
"It is true what they say, even enemies could become allies when faced with a common goal." Scar stated as he took Edwards metal arm in his plain one. The two shook hands firmly only once before releasing one another.
"I think the saying is 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.'" Alphonse stated as he hobbled up to stand beside her. She turned to look at him as she adjusted the glove on her arm. He was dented badly above his right leg causing the metal of his leg to stick out in an awkward angle from the rest of him.
"Alphonse are you alright?" she asked, causing him to look down at the near destruction on his armor.
"Oh, yeah I don't feel a thing." He rubbed his helmet as he spoke causing her lips to pull down on one side as she inwardly winced at his poor attempt at a joke.
"Well isn't this sweet," Emily turned her attention quickly to the trees behind Envy where lust and Gluttony were stepping through the underbrush she noticed a strange looking tall bulky man stepping into view behind them causing her blood to run cold once again.
"Lust," Edward stated as he clenched his fists tight enough for his knuckles of his flesh hand to turn white and the metal of his other to groan with the strain, "You have Gluttony and Sloth in tow this time I see." He growled.
"It's a party isn't it?" Lust purred as she rested her fingertips on her right hand against her cheek. Emily felt the array in her hand like it was a hot iron when she looked upon the woman's face. She knew then just how it felt to want to murder someone else.
Part 2: Loss during battle is a decided fact.
The tension in the air intensified as the two groups stood facing one another; Ed, Al, Scar, and Emily stood side by side facing the Homunculi who stood in much the same way. Emily could feel the heat from Edward's body as he stood beside her but she could not look his way. Her hands shook as she stared down Lust with an ever growing hatred that caused her blood boil and her head feel as if it could split apart at any moment.
I… I want to kill her, I want to melt her to nothing and be rid of her. I want to be happy again.
Those thoughts danced around her mind as she gritted her teeth in anger and despair. She had a plan but she did not plan on a showdown like this. If she went after Lust now then the other three would zone in and attack her. Edward was no match to them, he may have been able to chase them off in the past but she knew that he had no way of permanently getting rid of them. She had the very thing that they needed for that, right in the palm of her hand.
"Well this is boring." It was Envy who spoke. They had placed their hands in pockets on the shorts that she had not noticed before and was leaning forward slightly with a dull uninterested expression upon their face, "Do I always have to be the first one to take a shot at someone?" as Envy spoke, they made a gun motion with their hand and winked at Scar. Out of the corner of her eye Emily could see Scar stiffen visibly. This sight sent a chill of fear down her spine, if Envy could make Scar react in such a way then…
"Why are you bringing up the past like that?" she turned to see Edward standing there with his arms crossed angrily and a stern look upon his face, "All you're doing is trying to psyche him out. Anyone would be able to see through that stupid trick." Ed smirked as he eyed Envy up and down, "Anyway, your problem is with me Psycho tranny."
"Obviously an idiot could see through that trick since you were the first one to point it out." Envy's smirk had transformed into an all-out grin as he stared right back at the blonde beside Emily. She could care less about Edwards's petty squabble with the stranger she had just met that day. Her eyes were only for Lust, and her mind danced around the idea of obliterating the other woman completely. She stepped forward then, with her hands clenched at her sides and a burning hatred in her gut. Lust turned her gaze on Emily and gave her a smirk, a small gesture that let Emily know the woman clearly thought she was still too weak to take her on, even when Lust was in such a state. Emily narrowed her eyes as she slowly moved forward across the dirt path that had cut a line between the two groups.
"I think I get it now." She stated in a voice so calm that it made even Edward draw back a bit and feel the cold hands of fear run down his spine, "I wasn't some random pick for successor, no, none of us were. You, you beasts had your eyes on us since day one. You knew that you would need new bodies sooner or later to hold your stones so you prepared some in the form of the six of us you managed to capture. You killed my parents because you knew that that way no one would come looking for me too quickly and you could do your dumb assed ceremony and take over my body once you had weakened it. That's why you came after me the same day as their death. If I hadn't run into the Elric's in the street that day I would probably be you right now." As she finished her monologue she drew to a stop just within her arms reach of Lust. She glared up at the woman who seemed pleased with her as she smiled down at her.
"Too bad you're worthless to us now that you have awakened your alchemy, we have had to start from scratch, isn't that just pitiful?" the woman laughed loudly causing her oversized breasts to jiggle wildly in front of Emily. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the woman who was seemingly having the time of her life nearly two feet from her.
"No." she stated flatly as her hands shook causing the glove on her right arm to slip down slightly and bunch up at the elbow.
"No?" Lust smiled as she chuckled the question, "What are you going to do little pest? Draw your circle and punch us with a wall again, didn't work too well last time did it?" Lust leaned forward after she asked the question and grasped Emily's chin in her hand, forcing her face upwards to look into her eyes, "We are still here after all." She purred.
"Not for long." Emily growled as she shoved her glove covered palm between the woman's large breasts. She focused her energy into her palm and shut her eyes tightly as she thought over and over again about what she most desired.
Please daddy, give me your strength to finish my mission.
She prayed as a blinding red flash cut through her closed eyelids. Lust twitched against her and let out a stream of noises that she could barely recognize or begin to find meaning behind.
Pain perhaps?
She smiled as she thought of this. She opened her eyes to see Lusts own ones open wide; the irises seemed small as well as the pupils as they jumped around in their sockets. A blood like red liquid seeped between her fingers and down the length of her arm before dripping into the mud it created between her feet. It took Lusts hollow shell of a body falling lifeless to the ground to stop the stillness that had settled around them. As she suspected the other three jumped towards her right away. She pulled the glove up on her arm to adjust it as she rushed to decide who to use her array on next. Just as she had decided upon Gluttony for reasons that were strictly personal, she felt herself being pulled backwards into a hard chest and continuing backwards into the air. She turned to see Edward was the one who was now holding her tightly in his arms while the other two moved to stand between them and the Homunculi.
"Edward?" she gasped when he clutched her closer to himself.
"Don't ever do anything that dangerous again." He ordered as he turned his head down to give her a worried look, "Promise me." He demanded.
"I promise." She breathed as her silver eyes were caught up in his own golden pools. He closed his eyes then and let out a soft sigh.
"I don't know if my heart could take it if you threw yourself into trouble all the time." His voice was barely a whisper as he released her and took a step forward, "Watch after Havoc okay?" he asked as he looked at her over his shoulder.
"Yeah, okay." She stated as she clutched her hands to her throbbing heart. She watched in helpless silence from where he had placed her next to a still blacked out Havoc as the other three rushed towards their enemies. Her lip quivered as she thought of the three of them risking their lives when she was the one that the beasts wanted.
"It's okay to feel useless." She jumped, startled at Havocs sudden statement. He was sitting up and pulling a crumpled cigarette out of the pack in his shirt pocket, "Look at them, a group like that would be hard to beat, even on their worst day."
"Do you really not think that Ed and the others can take them?" Emily asked as she pulled her knees close to her chest. Havoc chuckled as he lit the tip of his smoke with a shiny silver lighter.
"I wasn't talking about the beasty boys over there." He stated as he motioned towards the Homunculi. Emily's eyes widened in surprise before narrowing as a soft smile played across her lips. She watched as Edward, Scar, and Alphonse all worked in unison, attacking together as one against the three that were trying to overtake them. She saw Edward leap into the air and bring his fists down on Gluttony who had unwittingly gotten in his way when he was Rushing forward towards Envy, the force of his punch sent him bouncing off the large man and spinning through the air. She had her eyes on the arch of his body as it moved fluidly through the air, and on the bright gold eyes that looked just like two suns right there on his face. His eyes had widened and his lips moved to say something she could not hear, his lips moving frantically in a repeated motion as she watched his lips parting and forming a small o shape before moving to touch once more for the faintest of moments and parting again.
She froze with her eyes as wide as two saucers and her lips frantically trying to get out a sound that would not come. A deep rut had been carved into the landscape running directly in front of where both she and Havoc had been sitting. Havoc had completely avoided the strange force that seemed to swallow up everything in its straight path. Emily had not been so lucky, her eyes moved about wildly in her skull as she struggled against herself to decide whether to look down or to look away from the source of her current suffering.
I'm in so much pain; mommy, Daddy, it hurts.
Her eyes settled on the bottom of her right leg, and the area of it that seemed like it just suddenly ended. Fresh blood spurted out of the stub that had been formed in almost a perfect line just about three inches above where her ankle used to be. She could feel the warmth of Havocs arms around her, and the force against her body as he pulled her away from the shallow ditch that had swallowed up her foot. She was screaming madly as she writhed against his arms.
Pain! So much Pain! It hurts! Mommy! Daddy! Edward!
She could not get any words out around the feral screams that were being ripped from her throat like some savage beast fleeing its cave, but in her mind she cried out for them to help her. Her mind could not focus with the force of it; she had never been in that much pain before.
"Emily!" her head shot up quickly to see Edward flying through the air towards her. His eyes were so full of worry that it made her heart clench in her chest. There was a loud clang that caused the ground to shake nearby her as he landed at her side and grabbed her shoulders to force her to look at him once again.
"Emily are you alright?" he exclaimed as his eyes searched her face. Her legs twitched as the pain fully settled in to her body.
"My foot!" she finally managed to croak through her shredded throat, "It hurts so much Ed." She had to fight to get each word out as she clutched onto his shirt tightly in her pained state. He pulled her head carefully into his warm and cold chest as he looked beyond her to the three who were busily fighting his brother and his old enemy. Gluttony had used the strange mouth on his stomach in an attempt to eat her, but Edward had disrupted the angle of it when he had punched the ball of blubber in the face. Alphonse had managed to subdue the thing so he knew that he would not have to worry about being eaten again any time soon but he had a bigger problem at the moment. She was bleeding out, even now a large pool of crimson mud had formed around her missing appendage and he did not know how much longer she could remain conscious.
"We need to stop the bleeding Ed!" Havoc shouted over the sounds of the battle that raged behind him. Ed's teeth gritted as he nodded to the other blondes words. He ran his flesh hand down her leg, stopping just a hands width from her injury before pulling it back. With her laying limply against his chest, he clapped his hands together quickly and pressed them into the gaping mass of bloody flesh that made up the stub of her leg. She cried out and bucked against him as the flesh at the edges of her wound pulled towards the center. Her movements caused her to move out of his reach, stopping his transmutation partway and causing the blood flow to continue.
"Ed you're just causing her more pain!" Havoc cried out as he grabbed Edward by his metal wrist, "Stop! You can handle healing your own wounds but Emily won't be able to stay conscious if you continue like this!" Edward ripped his arm from the man's grasp and gritted his teeth tighter against the pain in his chest.
"I can't do anything." Ed fought back the sting of tears in his eyes as he uttered the words in defeat.
"Sorry boss." He watched as Havoc untucked his shirt and pulled a long strip from it as he spoke, "I can try to staunch the bleeding with this but she needs the Colonel." He tied the cloth tightly about the bottom of her leg as he spoke without looking at the Fullmetal Alchemist, "Only Roy can stop this bleeding for good by cauterizing the wound." He explained softly to the younger male as he tied the last knot tightly against her calf.
"We need Colonel dipshit at a time like this." Edwards fists were clenched tighter than ever before as he spoke.
"She needs a hospital." Havoc sighed as he watched her eyes roll up into the back of her head while she fainted. Edward frowned down at him as he pulled her up to a flat wall particle that laid across the ruined homes rubble, "Boss, Ed, the best you can do right now is kick the shit out of the guys who did this to her." He stated as he turned his head to look at Edward over his shoulder. The young Alchemist sighed before giving him a curt nod and turning his attention on the ones that Scar and Alphonse were working together to hold back.
"She's pretty amazing you know." Havocs soft voice caused the young blonde to turn his head to look down at him once again, "Before she came into the picture you and Scar would have never teamed up against those guys and it would have been just you versus him versus them versus you. Emily may be the most powerful Alchemist I have ever met; she managed to create an alliance between us and an Ishballen, after everything that's happened." Edward's mouth hung open for only a moment before he cast a soft smile at the unconscious Emily.
"Her true powers haven't even started to show yet." He stated as he turned back to face the fighting while crossing his arms over his chest, "Don't forget she is also the very first Alchemist, state or otherwise, to kill a Homunculi." He stated as he motioned towards the limp mass of flesh that was once known as Lust as he spoke.
"Hell of an ex-girlfriend." Havoc gave a soft tich sound after he spoke. His hand tightened its grip on the silver lighter in his hand as he looked towards what was left of the woman.
"Hey, is it nice? Having a girlfriend I mean." Edward asked without looking back at Havoc. The man smiled and let two thin streams of smoke escape around his crumpled cigarette he was currently inhaling.
"That depends on the girlfriend I guess." He answered finally, "If the love is real then no matter what you will find happiness one day." He finished as he ran his fingers through his hair in a way that seemed very cool to him in that moment.
"Why do adults have to be so sappy all the time?" Edward asked as he pulled his deep red coat off of his shoulders to drape it across the sleeping Emily's body," It was a yes or no question, geez." He muttered as he moved towards the fight slowly. His lips pulled up into a smile as he stopped moving for a moment and clapped his hands together before rushing forward into the brawl. Havoc chuckled from where he sat next to the sleeping Emily and rested his arms on his bent knees.
"He's going to be a fine man one day, you're pretty lucky kiddo." He stated as he turned to look at her pain filled sleeping face, "It will be hard but I know with you at his side he could become the finest man this country has ever seen." He turned to look upon the destruction that his ruin car had caused to her house and sighed as he rubbed his head, "Awe man, I just got that thing paid off and now its wreaked. I guess that's what happens when you mess with Ed." He chuckled as his eyes moved to the battle once again, "it feels so strange watching them go at it, like the world is ending and we are in this calm bubble just looking on at the destruction without touching it." he did not notice her wince in her sleep as she struggled through the pain that kept her in a half awake state.
"Edward." She mumbled softly as his image played through her mind.
I hope I could be the one by his side Havoc, I really do.
Part 3: In the aftermath
She didn't know when she passed out fully, but when she had finally come to she was laying on her back in her bed that rested in her bedroom of her uncles old home. She blinked as she stared up at the dark oak wood of her bedroom ceiling and let out a soft sigh. She remembered momentarily why her right leg felt so stiff, and why the smell of scorched skin hung in the air. She couldn't feel the pain that had overpowered her on the battle field, but the thick haziness in her head told her that she was heavily medicated on the pain medicine that her father was famous for creating. She pushed herself up to rest on her elbows and looked around the room. A darkened figure nearby her window caused her to jump back against her pillows.
"You are finally awake Hagraven." Her wide eyes slowly returned to normal as realization sank in.
"It's you Scar." She sighed in relief as she pressed one hand to her chest, "But wait, what happened with the Homuncui?" she asked quickly.
"We chased the three away, with you out of the battle we could not get rid of them for good, I am sure they will show their faces again eventually." He stated as he moved into the light casted by her bedside lamp.
"Ed?" she asked as she sat up straight in her bed.
"He is in the front room repairing the metal boy." Scar stated as he crossed his arms, "Fullmetal asked me to keep an eye on you, it seems our feud is drawing to a close." He gave her a gentle smile as he tilted his head to one side, "I also think that it is all because of you." He moved to sit at the foot of her bed with his arms still crossed before his chest, "You showed me that pointlessly killing any State Alchemist I happened across was no better than what they did to my home. If I truly want revenge I should strive to become better than the ones who wanted to eradicate me and my people. I should have figured out who truly started it all before I began to kill as well." He sighed as he looked down at his feet.
"I'm glad you two made up, I just wish it was under less hectic circumstances." Emily stated as she scratched the back of her neck with a small smile.
"I don't think we would have made up any other way," Scar stated softly seconds before there was a knock on her bedroom door. The two of them looked towards the painted wood door as it creaked open slowly and Edward's head popped into view.
"I was just checking in on Emily." He stated without looking up from the ground. Scar sighed softly as he stood and slid his hands into his pockets.
"Think you could take over guard duty?" he asked as he stepped past Edward and disappeared down the hallway.
"I guess I have no choice." He sighed as he smirked over his shoulder at the dark hallway beyond her door. She placed her hands in her lap as her eyes followed his every move. He made his way to sit about halfway along the length of her bed and rested his hands on his knees.
"I heard you guys won." She offered softly as she studied his troubled profile. His brow furrowed as she spoke causing her heart to sink.
"Yeah," was his soft reply.
"I'm sorry I wasn't much help, and after I got all excited about my plan to." She stated as she clenched her fist against her chest.
"You were a much bigger help than you think." He smiled softly at the carpet as he spoke to her, "Who knew that your dad had such a powerful array in his journals." He motioned to her bedside table where her mother's right glove rested, still intact and seemingly untouched by the red liquid that she knew she had seen running down the white material, "I melted the stones remnants off of it using the same array you had drawn on the palm." He finished causing her to look back at him with a raised eyebrow.
"You used my dad's array?" she asked as she tilted her head.
"Uh, yeah I just had to study it for a little bit but after that I pretty much figured it out." He sighed once again after speaking.
"Thank you for cleaning my mom's glove for me." She said as she clutched her sheets between her fists. Her heart was beating harder than it had ever done before and her face felt hot as she eyed Edward sitting so close to her with only a dark black tank top on that was loose enough to show the glint of where his steel appendage met his skin through the side of it. She found herself consciously closing her mouth where it had been hanging slightly agape.
"It's fine, really." Ed smiled at her causing her heart to skip a beat. She smiled back at him as she leaned forward, bringing her face close to his own. Her lips tingled as she thought of pressing them to Edwards one more time, they remembered his lips shape, how he had rough blonde hairs that tickled her upper lip whenever he had pressed his to her own. She allowed her eyes to drift closed as she brought her face fully up to where his had been just seconds before.
All they touched was air.
There was a loud crash as a vase of flowers from on top of her dresser across her room from her bed slammed into the floor. Her eyes popped open to see Edward leaning against her dresser with a shocked and fearful look on his face, his eyes were wide and he appeared to have a fine sheen of sweat on his face. They stared at one another for a long moment that felt like an eternity to Emily who was shocked into silence.
Didn't he like me before? What did I do? Why doesn't he want to kiss me any more?
The questions slammed into her mind like a steam train going at full speed. Tears welled up in her eyes as she watched his mouth open and close without any sound before he turned and rushed out of her bedroom, slamming the door behind him as he did so. Only when she was left on her own in the darkened room did she allow the tears to fall. She curled up in her bed in the fetal position as she allowed her steady tears to soak through her pillow.
"I love you Ed, why don't you love me?" she cried as she hugged her knees to her chest tightly.
(End of Chapter 25: Dun Dun Dun! This is the last chapter of the story, I hope you enjoyed it and I sincerely hope you will return to read the sequel!
Thank you all for your help, patience, and enthusiasm during this story. You all are what keep me writing. Please feel free to continue doing so in the next installment of Emily's story!
Added-OC)