Fullflame
By: Bar-Ohki
Disclaimer: Still own nothing.
Recap: Izumi and some soldiers were getting overwhelmed by chimeras, but Richard blew a few of them up making it easier (maybe). Hughes and Olivier got hit by a direct hit with a knife-turned-bomb from Kimbley and afterwards Richard took out Grand and his guns (but was that too late?). William and Hohenheim of the Light are walking in for their final confrontation with Dante (are they going to their deaths?). Marcoh has appeared and was left dramatically starting a battle with Richard. Roy was woken up by Armstrong (ouch) and is on his way with Bradley and a few others. Lastly the Pairs Light, Hope, and Sniper have begun their fights and have now scattered across the city (will it be a united they stand, divided they fall scenario?). And where are Tucker and Lucas!?
Other Stuff: Here we are. The final chapter. School started up for me and my beta, so we've been a little busy to get on this, I hope you've enjoyed the story and that you drop one last review before you go. There will not be a sequel, but I will be writing another story soon. I haven't decided on pairings for it yet, but I am open to suggestions. And after this will be a quick special of Roy with a stick (I didn't forget you!) in place of an epilogue.
Dedication: This one is written for all those that stuck with me to see the end, thank you guys!
Chapter 25: Roy
After the chimera problem was cut down significantly, Izumi and her remaining soldiers rushed towards Hughes and Olivier, knowing the two would be needing help. Two men sitting on a nearby bench stopped the procession. One had orange hair and the other had dull gold eyes.
"So you're the lot that's been giving Ms. Dante all this trouble." Tucker remarked causally, sounding more threatening than he actually was.
"Dante!?" Izumi gasped, remembering her alchemy teacher. After a pause, she shook her head and said nothing.
"Do you know how a homunculus is born?" Tucker asked her, smiling kindly. "It's born when an alchemist fails trying to bring someone back to life."
"No." Izumi stepped back.
"You turned your baby boy into a monster, aren't your proud?" Tucker asked her, continuing to smile. "Then you abandoned him, left him all alone on an island. You're such a good mother."
"Bastard!" Sig cried, lunging forward and slugging Tucker. The scrawny alchemist went flying, landing on the ground with a dull 'crunch', his neck bent at an unnatural angle with his expression frozen in agony and fear. Lucas glanced over at the man, blinking slowly. In a surreal moment, Lucas stood up and walked over to the corpse. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and set it on the man.
"You fool!" Izumi cried, still frozen to the ground by Tucker's words. There was a small sizzle of alchemic energy, and the entire area was covered in purple light. The soldiers exchanged wary glances as they observed the forbidden alchemy while watching their backs. Arcs of energy shot out and touched the nearby solders. Screams, full of pure agony, burst from the victims. Izumi and Sig watched on in horror as black arms flew outward, greedily consuming whatever they could touch.
Snap! And like just as quickly as it had begun, it was over. Wounded soldiers fell to the ground, blood rushing like rivers from their newly made wounds. Several of the victims had entire holes carved out of their bodies, revealing bone and muscle alike. Crunching noises drove everyone to look at the re-animated Tucker, who was munching pleasantly on some red stones that Lucas was providing.
"Kill them!" One of the captains snapped to his senses enough to fire at Lucas, hitting the man's shoulder. Lucas feel forward onto Tucker, moaning in his immobilizing pain. Tucker stood up, brushed himself off, and then grinned. A red tattoo had appeared on the back of his right hand. Flashing alchemic energy, his skin turned black and shiny.
"Let's play, humans." He said, his voice gruff and grinding. Izumi stood up and wobbled over to face the man, her composure returning with each step.
"I'll destroy you, Sin." Izumi dropped into an offensive stance and motioned for the man to bring it on.
-break-
Kimbley went over to his so-called 'companion' and snorted. Stupid, pathetic Grand had gotten himself killed. Spinning on his heels, Kimbley turned and had a good look at the damage he had done to the duo he'd been fighting off. Olivier was on the bottom of the mess, her arm and leg mangled and burnt beyond recognition by the explosion. Maes was sitting further back, pretty much unharmed.
"Well, well, your girlfriend took the hit for you!" Kimbley laughed. "How-uck!"
Maes had cut off the monologuing alchemist by throwing a knife into the man's throat. Blood poured freely from the wound, coming out of Kimbley's mouth and nose as it got caught in his throat. He gurgled and spat blood in his attempt to talk. Pretty soon the man was swaying dangerously, his face paling significantly. Maes stood up and threw another knife, lodging it perfectly in the dying man's brain. More blood, more swaying.
Thump! Finally the alchemist collapsed, dead. Maes made a face at the still warm corpse and pulled his knives out. He walked over to Grand and slit the man's throat, assuring that he would not rise again. He walked over to Olivier and accessed the damaged done to her. She had been pretty badly burnt, and her arm and leg were as good as gone considering how charred they were. Her breathing was labored and her body showed every sign of exhaustion and then some.
"General?" Maes asked, hoping she was conscious.
"Yes?" She managed, her face contorting in pain.
"Why?" Maes asked.
"Elysia." Olivier opened her eyes and looked Maes in the eye. Earlier, on their way to Old Central, Maes had shared pictures of his daughter with everyone present (Olivier included). Her eyes told him everything, of how she was slightly jealous of his parenthood and that she wanted to keep his family intact and whole, even at the cost of her own life.
"Then live, live so she can thank you for saving her daddy." Maes told his wounded companion.
"Miles." She hissed. Maes was confused. Was she asking for a medic?
"I'm here, sir." One of the soldiers that had thrown themselves to the ground, surviving both the explosion and the bullets, arrived. He had a dark skin and red eyes, marking him as being of Ishbalan descendent. Maes said nothing as the man knelt beside the General, pulling out a first aid kit. It was then Maes realized he was wearing an Amestris uniform.
"I'll take care of her," Miles gave Maes a knowing look, "now you go and be useful elsewhere."
"I understand." Maes stood up.
"Sir!" A few voices chorused from behind. They were the soldiers that survived unscathed.
"Come with me." Maes ordered them, having the men follow him into the city but unsure what awaited them next. The remaining wounded started helping one another. Miles paused and looked at the carnage and destruction the small battle had caused.
"This is why Ishbala forbid us from using the devil's art; it just leads to messes like this." Miles told the General as he began to clean her wounds.
"Shut up." Olivier hissed back.
"Yes sir."
-break-
"You're an ungrateful boy." Dante told her 'son', frowning in disapproval. "I bore you into this world the first time, I made sure your father brought you back and since then I have done nothing but take care of you…. Is this your idea of rewarding me for all my hard work?"
"You thought that by sleeping with father, he would teach you more about alchemy, that you would become a favorite. When your careless sleeping around knocked you up, you decided to use me as leverage against him." William told her, reciting the truth of the story. "When I was eighteen you tricked me into drinking his mercury. Then you fed me that 'ether' that was supposed to heal me. That's how I died. You, mother dearest, murdered me."
"Who told you such a ridiculous notion?" Dante asked, seemingly offended.
"I remembered it." William said, flatly. "After I died you convinced him to turn me into a homunculus and when he refused to sacrifice the city and make a Philosopher's Stone for you, you went ahead and did it anyway. Then you sealed his soul to the city just so that he could watch you. Face it, you're a heartless selfish woman. You never spared me any love unless it was in alignment with your plans."
"I gave you life!" Dante was angry at the deep pain of the betrayal.
"You gave me Hell!" William snapped, transforming himself into a young version of her original body. Dante gasped, her eyes widening. She had once been a beautiful, powerful woman.
"The only person I love," William told her using what was once her voice, "is me."
Hohenheim of Light clapped his hands silently and stepped into the room. He inched towards the urn that held the ash of William's original body. Dante noticed the ghostly man in her room, watching him with her eyes narrowed.
"No." She said to Hohenheim, clapping her hands. She reached out and touched the wall, sending a single arc into it.
"Your selfishness is why I never taught you anything." Hohenheim told her, he looked at William. "I'm sorry my son, I wish I could have done more for you."
"You tried." William gave him a sad smile. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye." Hohenheim then let out a loud, mind-shattering wail. His form glowed a pulsing purple light, then with a final climax, there was nothing. No sprit nor a trace of it. Somewhere else in the darkness of Old Central, a wall with a blood red rune on it was cracked. Hohenheim of the Light, a man who had lived as a sprit for over 400 years, officially did not exist anymore.
"You're just a cruel bitch. You are not even a mother at all, let alone mine." William spat acidly at Dante.
"You two were always fond of getting the last word." Dante sighed and clapped her hands.
-break-
"I want all of you to listen," Bradley begun, "this is going to be by far the most dangerous mission you will ever involve yourselves in."
"Fuhrer..?" One of the men was a little wide-eyed at the thought.
"Our main objective would be to recover the Fighter Unit of Fullflame." Bradley gave Roy a meaningful nod. "But the other objective would be to kill Dante."
"Dante, sir?" One of the men asked.
"She is the one that caused the massacre of Old Central." Bradley explained, his look cutting off anyone who choose to argue. "Evil like her does not die easily."
"Shit!" The driver yelled and the truck veered. There was a sickening crunch as the truck smashed into a little boy. Everyone exited the truck to examine the damage. What they found was a young body with long black hair, unharmed on the ground. He was cadaverously pale and had unnatural violet eyes.
"Hello misters, do you want to play?" He asked them, sounding happy and cheery.
"Are you okay?" One of the men asked. The boy held out his arm and it turned into water. Quickly the water flew forward and wrapped itself around the men's head, suffocating him.
"I love this game!" The boy said, laughing.
"Too bad for you kid," Roy began, pulling on his glove, "water is composed of oxygen and hydrogen, both make highly flammable gases."
"Eh?" Roy touched the boy's head and transmuted him, turning the water-kid into gas.
"Good-bye, homunculus."
Snap!
Boom!
-break-
Hohenheim Elric yawned. Before him lay another Pair, bound by the chains of defeat. Trisha was standing a little ways behind him, just as bored.
"I call a 20 second rest; I cannot cast spells for the next 20 seconds starting now. How many more, Trisha?" Hohenheim asked her, casting a specific spell to make himself heard.
"Two." Trisha held up the correct number of fingers to help assure he understood. "Hope and Sniper are fighting them off as we speak." Hohenheim nodded, content.
-break-
"Rip!" Winry was flung backwards into Alphonse from the blast. Alphonse caught her and they both winced in pain. A shackle was clasped around Al's wrist, sending constant waves of pain. Winry did what she could to hold off their attackers, but her talents lay in support and defense, not in combat.
"We need help." Alphonse told his Other Half, his face set in a determined frown. "Call for it."
"But we'll be exposed!" Winry gasped, fearful.
"We don't have a choice." Alphonse reminded her grimly.
-break-
"Snap apart!" Riza cried as she sent another spell at her opponents. The other Pair winced as Riza's spell smashed through their defense. "Eat lead!" Guns appeared from all around, they took aim and fired. White light streaked across the battle field, striking the other Pair. Once there, the white light shifted its shape and became chains. More and more chains clasped on the Pair, until both Parts fell to their knees, defeated.
Riza took a step back, panting with effort. Rapid fire spell casting was her specialty, but prolonged use of spells was not her forte, she was at the end of her endurance. Jean walked up from behind and held her upright.
"How many more?" He asked her gently.
"One." Riza breathed. "I can almost shut down this field." She managed a smile.
"We'll basically be useless after this, you know that?" Jean laughed, despite being right.
"I am well aware of that." Riza laughed too, not really caring. "I'm sure the others can take care of the last one."
"Me too."
-break-
"Break!" The other Pair cried, shattering Winry's barrier.
"Al!" She gasped as the shards turned white and locked onto Alphonse as more chains. The youngest Elric fell to his knees, moaning loudly in pain.
"When you knock down the foundations, the building crumples, you lose." Alphonse and Winry both started screaming in pain, binding chains covering their bodies. Defeat hurt, a lot.
-break-
"You are a fool, my child." Dante told William bluntly. She dashed up to him and touched his face, leaving small bits of ash on it. William was frozen, all of his strength pulled out of his body. His eyes were open wide with fear, a basic primal fear. Smiling, Dante pushed him onto the transmutation circle she had drawn on the ground. The black lines lit up with an eerie red glow when William touched it. He was trapped on the circle, his body functions suspending.
William, son of Hohenheim, reborn as the homunculus Envy, was sealed. Dante laughed.
"I bet you thought I'd make you hack up all your red stones." She grinned. "Well I don't have the time or energy right now, but I will afterwards. I bet your baby 'brother' will help."
William could still register what his senses provided him with. He could hear Dante move around the room picking up a few things, and it made him nervous.
"Unfortunately for you, I've planned ahead." Dante had a sickeningly sweet smile on her face that William did not see, but felt. "The circle is already done, it's just a matter of putting the pieces into place."
William heard Dante leave.
Then nothing.
-break-
"What the hell was that?" One of the soldiers in the Fuhrer's party asked when they arrived at the abandoned church. Roy gave the man a long, hard look. He Felt that the man was distressed because this was his first real encounter with fear. He wasn't coping well.
"You can't handle this mission." Roy told the man flatly. "You can't keep your emotions in check; following at this point will only hinder the rest of us. Go home."
"You can't decide that!" Another soldier cried, furious with Roy.
"I can Feel what you are feeling." Roy looked the new solder straight in the eye. "You're curious, curious of what is going on. You want to see this strange situation's end. Your curiosity burns within you, overpowering all of your other emotions, it keeps you stable."
"What the hell?"
"And you are afraid at the same time, afraid of the truths I am speaking, of the accuracy I use to describe your emotions. You are afraid of monsters like that boy, of monsters like me." Roy explained to the man in a condescending manner. "And yet you burn to know more, to find out the truth. And I'll tell you want, boy, you'll find what you are looking for soon. I'm sure it's not what you want."
"Brigadier Mustang!" Major Armstrong glared at the man, obviously not content with Roy's choice of behavior.
"I am Fullflame's Sacrifice. I can Feel the emotions of others around me and I can alter them a little. 'Empathy' is what it was labeled to keep the fear at bay, but what it really is, is me walking into your heart and fucking with it." Roy was deadly serious. "I am also an alchemist. I can do things with fire that are unnatural. I am a real walking freak show."
"Damn straight." Bradley cut Roy off, turning all the attention onto him. "We're up against freaks worse and far more twisted than you."
"Worse?" The first soldier breathed.
"If you can't accept me," Roy looked the man in the eye, "leave now."
"You don't scare me!" The first soldier screamed.
"You are in denial." Roy rolled his eyes.
"General, is there anything that can be done?" Bradley asked him.
"Well, he does have an honest desire to help you beneath that fear," Roy informed the Fuhrer, "but do realize if I mess with his emotions I might not be able to put him back together the way he was."
"What are you talking about?" Armstrong asked.
"As a Sacrifice I can alter emotions of those around me, especially my Fighter Unit. Normally I stay out of other people's souls, but I am highly capable of making exceptions." Roy explained quickly. "So, sir, how badly do you want to follow us on this mission?"
"You're going to alter my soul?" The man took a step back.
"Only if you decide you want to come with us. If you decide not to then I will do nothing." Roy left the man with the choice. "And do choose quickly, we don't have much time."
"Do it." The man said quickly, praying he wouldn't lose his nerve.
"Hold still." Roy sounded gentle and calming, his approach being the man into peace. Roy reached out, set his hands on either side of the man's face and locked eyes with him. Roy found himself falling into the other man's eyes, into his soul. Quickly, Roy found the man's desire to help, loyalty and trust of the Fuhrer, and his courage. Roy grabbed the three elements, tied them together and breathed some strength into them. Soon the man's other priorities outshined his fear. Roy receded from the man's soul, back into his own body.
"Let's go." Bradley said simply and started to walk into a doorway he just opened up.
"Sir!" The men followed their Fuhrer.
-break-
Richard glared at his opponent; Marcoh was hiding behind a large, crystal shell. Richard took in a breath and waited since he could not attack until the barrier went down. He studied Marcoh carefully, then realized. The man was fighting against his will, so to avoid hurting others he was stalling.
"Breda, shoot the barrier." Richard told the man. Quickly Heymans Breda pulled out his gun and started shooting at the crystal. It shattered, freaking out the unsuspecting Marcoh and making the man cower. A smile grew on Breda's lips when he realized what Richard was asking him to do. A hand shot to his belt, pulled out a gas grenade, pulled out the pin, then threw it into the hole in Marcoh's barrier. Smoke filled the shell, and Marcoh's hysterical giggling floated out the small hole.
"Laughing gas?" Richard was caught off guard by this one.
"Why not?" Breda countered.
"I supposed that's a good reason." Richard turned his attention back onto the battlefield. He frowned. "Shit."
"What the heck is that thing?" One of the soldiers pointed at Greed and Izumi fighting.
"I'm going down to deal with it." Richard announced, swinging himself onto the ladder and scrambling down before anyone could protest.
"Dammit!" Breda hissed, not liking that.
"I'm on it." Falman called to Breda as he swung onto the ladder after Richard.
"I guess that's alright…." Breda muttered, still feeling bad about it.
"Stop worrying about Hawkeye killing you, and help us plan this battle!" Someone reminded Breda.
"Right, right!"
-break-
Maes arrived in a large square with a crucifix and a transmutation circle painted on the ground. His eyes widened when he realized what the circle was and what it was for.
"That's right!" He muttered to himself. William had shown them how to alter the circle should they find it. Maes remembered what the circle had to be changed to well enough, but that wasn't the problem he had. What the heck was he going to use to repaint it with?
-break-
"Dammit!" Izumi muttered as she ducked beneath the sin's claws. She was tired and had recently had another coughing fit; this fight was not in her favor. She was losing rather quickly. Glancing around at the remaining soldiers, Izumi realized they would be of little help to her, not when they were scared like they were. She grimaced and attacked the sin again, feeling more and more useless.
"Eh?" The Sin was very suddenly on fire.
"Homunculi have the same molecular make up as a human being." Richard explained as he dramatically arrived at the battle scene with his hand ready to snap. "That shield of yours can't come from nothing, so it pulls the carbon from your body to produce the armor-like effect."
"Carbon?" Izumi realized that's what the shield was, Carbon, one of the hardest materials known to man.
"Which, with some persuasion, is highly flammable." Richard smirked. Sparking arcs came off his hand, turning the yellow flames to blue.
"Argh!" The homunculus let out inhuman shrieks as it was burned alive. It kept regenerating, only to add more fuel to the fire.
"Damn." Izumi smirked. "You're not bad at all old man."
"Thank you." Richard smiled, not paying attention to Greed. Greed smirked and approached the alchemist, then threw himself on him. Richard cried out, suddenly finding himself on fire, a fire that wasn't going to die quickly. Izumi gasped, upset, and unsure what to do. Suddenly the fire was out. Swinging her gaze around, Izumi saw Lucas kneeling on the ground, hand on a circle drawn with blood. The man was panting heavily, his golden eyes shining with life and fire.
"You're back." Izumi observed. Lucas smiled and used his blood to draw a different circle, making spikes that stabbed into Greed's regenerating shoulders. Richard used this time to crawl away from the homunculus, wincing all the while from the pain of his wounds.
"You seem used to that." Falman observed, arriving on the scene.
"If you play with fire, you're bound to get burned." Richard grinned. "I'm used to it."
Meanwhile, Greed broke free of his spiky restraints. He was growling and mad.
"Any brilliant plans?" Izumi asked, her exhaustion catching up with her.
"I could try to light him on fire again?" Richard didn't think that was a good idea. Greed started to approach him, growling. "You know when you have death walking right up to you; it's not as scary as I thought it would be."
"No, it isn't." Izumi felt remarkably calm and at peace. Greed raised his claws up into the air, ready to slaughter the alchemists below him.
-break-
"Alphonse!" Trisha cried, a chain latching onto her wrist.
"Your attack ends here." Hohenheim growled, really angry to know his son had been defeated in battle.
"Hurry!" Trisha cried, running toward her son with her husband hot at her heels.
-break-
"Argh!" Jean cried, a chain shackling onto his wrist from out of nowhere.
"Jean!" Riza looked at him, full of concern.
"Dammit…." Jean muttered. "I can't stand."
"I'm going to stay here with you." Riza promised him.
"Waiting for your death, hmm?" A Pair stepped out from the shadows, their eyes glittering.
"Shit."
-break-
Greed was flung to the side when a stone spike violently crashed into the side of his head. Izumi and Richard both almost jumped up to see where the spike had come from.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." Roy apologized, snapping his fingers and lighting the homunculus on fire.
"Allow me, Comrade!" Armstrong bellowed, ripping off his shirt. He slammed his iron knuckles into the ground and made an enclosure of stone around the burning homunculus.
"Damn, I wish we had thought of that…." Izumi muttered.
"Medics, take over." Roy called to the soldiers behind him. "You two, come with us, we're going forward." Roy pointed at two medics and started onward.
"Take care of yourself, brat!" Richard called after Roy.
"You too, old man!" Roy waved, him and a fresh wave of soldiers pressed forward.
"Good to see you back, Lucas." Bradley remarked casually as he approached the fallen Elric.
"It's been a while." Lucas admitted. "Watch her fall for me."
"I will." Bradley nodded and ran after the rest of the troops.
"What was that about?" Falman asked as he began to help Izumi dress her wounds.
"Later." Lucas waved them all off and grew quiet.
-break-
"Master!" Ilandere squealed when Dante stepped into the room. Edward turned and gave her a look of defiance.
"I'm taking you to see your Other Half." Dante smiled kindly, as if she had suddenly had a change of heart. Edward cocked his head to the side.
"Do you not want to see him?" She asked. Edward answered by standing up and walking up beside her, clearly ready to leave.
"Let's go then." Dante smiled and led the boy out of the room.
-break-
Maes fussed around, trying to find something to alter the circle with.
"Gah!" He cried out in frustration, wishing for a miracle. Behind him he heard a crunching noise. Pivoting on the balls of his feet, Maes turned around to see a bit of the wall had fallen down behind him. Being a curious man by nature, Maes walked over and investigated the new hole. Through the gap he could see a blood red rune on a cracked wall.
"Blood?" Maes realized the rune was blood red because it had been actually drawn in blood.
"Wait, drawn in blood…." He shivered when he realized what he did have to draw with.
-break-
"You bastards will feel the damage you did to my son in double!" Hohenheim cried as he arrived on the scene, sending a wave of red energy at the Pair. They gasped as the spell came upon them, giving them no time to defend. Riza and Jean both let out breaths of relief. The Aura around them gave a shudder and fell.
The defeated Pairs lay strewn across the ground, useless. Hohenheim sat down and took in a few breaths. He gave Trisha a sad, apologizing expression.
"We're not as young as we used to be." She remarked mournfully and took a seat next to her husband.
"Are you two okay?" Riza asked.
"Just tired, that's all." Trisha waved them off. "No worse than yourselves."
-break-
Maes was contemplating using his knife on his hand when Ilandere arrived.
"Trisha? Where's Hohenheim?" He asked her, mistaking the woman for Trisha.
"He's back a ways, needed some rest." Ilandere pretended to be Trisha without missing a beat.
"Oh really?" Maes believed her.
"Now I need your help." Ilandere told him. Maes walked over.
"Yes-!?" Ilandere lunged forward and wrapped her fingers around Maes' neck, strangling him.
"Stupid, foolish human! You do not deserve to see the Master!" Ilandere told Maes as she dragged him towards the hole in the wall. "Bad, bad human!"
Maes fought her grip with everything he had, but it was useless. With an insane smile Ilandere threw him into the hole. There was an unpleasant crunch when Maes' arm was bent in an unnatural fashion, breaking it. Quickly, Ilandere began to seal the hole back up. Maes sat up as he watched his only source of light go away. Then he realized something else- that source of light was also his source of air.
What a great way to die! Maes thought mournfully. Quickly he pressed himself up against the wall, trying to hear what was happening on the other side.
-on the other side of Maes' room-
Ilandere quickly pulled some carpets over the transmutation circle and set a chair in the place where Edward was to sit. Not too long after she was done Dante and Edward entered.
"Now I want you to sit here, patiently and wait with me. He'll be coming in soon." Dante assured Edward. The boy sat down and fidgeted with excitement, happy to finally be reunited with Roy. Dante stood at the edge of the circle and waited patiently, smiling.
Rather suddenly, the doors were incinerated in a large ball of fire. Dante clapped her hands and touched the ground, making binds on Edward's chair and a gag wrap around the boy's mouth. Edward's eyes went wide as he began to struggle against his binds. He knew better than to say anything, noises were often powerful spells without real aim or meaning. Those kinds of spells would do more harm than good in a situation like this.
Roy walked into the room, holding his hand out, ready to snap. His onyx eyes scanned the room and met with Edward's golden ones. He felt the distress and disgust from Edward; the distress coming from being bound and the disgust with himself for falling into Dante's trap. Roy's eyes swerved to meet Ilandere's. He recognized the woman from Edward's memories. Roy hissed at her, angry with all the pain she had given Edward over the years. Then the onyx eyes traced the room one last time, to meet the green eyes of the kneeling Dante.
"So you're the one behind this." Roy remarked. He could sense that she was unafraid; in fact she was triumphant. "You're cocky." Dante let out a loud, amused laugh.
"When you've been around as long as I have, you'd recognize a moment of triumph." She told him, standing back up. "Ilandere, please."
"Sure!" The other woman squealed and ran towards Roy. Roy smirked and ducked to the side to reveal Bradley and Armstrong with a half a dozen men behind them. Armstrong grunted and caught Ilandere's clawed hand. She hissed at him and pulled her hand free. Her body began to shift and shimmer. Within a few minutes she grew goat horns, large fangs, tufts of brown fur and blue scales. Her hands and feet grew larger, turning into mighty, red bear-like paws. Armstrong and Bradley blinked once then shrugged and readied themselves for a fight.
"She's not like other chimeras," Bradley warned Armstrong, "she's got human intelligence and an assload of insanity."
"What does that mean?" Armstrong asked.
"It means she doesn't care if she gets hurt, it only drives her to kill." Bradley remembered watching a poor victim fall to Ilandere's chimera form.
"Well then, distance seems to be in order." Armstrong picked up a stone and punched it, transmuting it all the while. The now spiky missile rushed towards Ilandere. She smirked (or was it grinned in a bloodthirsty manner?) and sidestepped the projectile. As it passed by she batted it off course, sending it hurtling towards Roy.
Roy was not an unobservant, mono-focused soldier (like the poor extras that have been dropping like flies this entire battle) which is why he was able to deftly dodge the projectile. Lucky for him it did not steer towards either Dante or Edward. Roy gave Armstrong an exasperated look, then turned his attention back to Dante when she clapped. She smirked and sent hands of earth after him.
Quickly, Roy snapped his fingers and blew up the hands. Dante just smirked even more and made new hands much closer to him. Roy's eyes narrowed and he ran towards them. Dante didn't hesitate, making the hands lunge towards him to catch him. At the last possible second, Roy stopped and let the hands grab air, then continued to run past them before they could be reopened.
Dante raised an eyebrow and sent her hands back into the ground. This time they shot up right under Roy's feet. With a knee-jerk reflex, he jumped backwards off the hand, landing gracelessly on his behind.
"Owie." Roy mumbled childishly. Edward glared at his Other Half for being an idiot.
Dante chuckled at the display of idiocy, clapping her hands all the while. Roy growled and snapped his fingers. Dante dodged out of the way, letting the carpet catch on fire. She growled, clapped her hands again and put the flames out. She gave Roy a death glare. Roy shrugged off her glare and made his way towards her again. This time his interruption did not come from Dante, rather from Bradley. Specifically, Bradley's flying body smashing into Roy.
Ilandere, Armstrong, and Bradley had been going at it in close quarters while Roy and Dante were throwing alchemy at one another. It didn't take them too long to figure out that Ilandere was inhumanly strong, mainly because when Bradley put his sword in front of himself to block her upper cut, she just sent him flying. He wound up smashing into Roy, something had not been intentional on Ilandere's part, but extremely effective for stopping both men.
"Humph!" Dante clapped her hands and did some more alchemy. Roy and Bradley barely managed to sort themselves out and roll out of the way in time. Edward's chair made several distressing noises as the boy fought violently for his escape. Roy looked around trying to pinpoint the new source of distress for his Other Half. It did not take long for the onyx eyes to have a good look at the floor beneath the carpet. He recognized the transmutation circle immediately. Roy shot a glance over at the crucifix and took in the circles on it. He realized that in order to finish the transmutation Dante needed to get him up there.
No wonder she's trying to trap me! Roy realized, scurrying out of the way of another hand. Pausing quickly, Roy began to plan. He knew she didn't want Edward dead, nor himself (at least until the transmutation was over); those facts alone gave him a few options. One option was to kill himself, which would in turn kill Edward and keep Dante from everything she wanted. Another option would be to aim attacks at Edward that she would try to protect him from. That tactic presented a problem in that Dante might catch on and find a counter. A third option would be running, though Roy wasn't sure that would be a smart or effective thing to do. He dodged about the hands, trying to think. He needed to throw Dante off guard somehow….
One of Armstrong's spikes missing his head by a matter of inches provided the needed inspiration. The last thing anyone would expect Roy to do right now would be to attack Ilandere, who was contained by Armstrong and Bradley, but they certainly weren't winning. Roy signaled discretely to the six men at the door to take aim at Dante and fire when he gave the signal. With a few long strides Roy was within lunging distance of Ilandere.
Edward cocked his head, his eyes narrowing as he observed.
Ilandere was hyper-aware of the activities around her, more so than Roy realized, and even more than Bradley would give her credit for. Unfortunately for her being in a crazed state prevented her from analyzing who it was that was approaching. All that registered in her mind was 'threat, back left three feet away'. Without warning the chimera spun around and slashed Roy's left eye.
Roy stumbled backwards, screaming in pain as his hands went up to cover his new wound. Dante was fuming. Eye wounds like that were often fatal.
"You idiot!!" She screeched at the chimera, clapping her hands and sending spikes at it. Ilandere stopped moving, the spikes holding her up sticking out of her body at awkward angles. On a few of the spikes appeared to be organs that had been violently pulled from her body. Blood and strange green liquid gushed down the spikes, turning them into some sort of morbid tacky-looking Christmas decoration. Dante was fuming; she continued to glare at the chimera even when it stopped twitching.
Bradley signaled his men on Roy's behalf. They nodded and fired, surprising the unsuspecting Dante with several pieces of lead boring into her flesh. She gasped, blood coming out of her mouth. She staggered.
"Damn humans!" She hissed, more blood pouring out of her mouth. Several of her bullet wounds were squirting blood as her heart struggled to keep beating. She glared at them with true hatred in her eyes, cursing them under every deity she knew. With a final stagger, she fell to the ground, not to rise again. Edward continued to trash, with added effort because of Roy's pain. Bradley heard the chair protesting loudly at Edward's abuse and remembered the boy.
Bradley realized that if there was anyone that could save Roy now, it'd be his Fighter Unit. Quickly Bradley rushed over and cut Edward's gag from his mouth. Edward gave Bradley a forgiving smile, showing the man he understood his past actions.
"These bonds do not hold me." Edward's bonds released. Quickly the boy leaped to his feet, running to Roy. He ignored the welts already forming on his wrists and ankles from all the thrashing he had done in the chair.
"Roy! Roy!" Edward cried, dropping to his knees and pulling his Other Half's head into his lap. Quickly the boy began to calm the convulsing man by running his hands through Roy's hair.
"Edward?" Roy asked, relaxing under the gentile touches of his Other Half. Edward bent down and kissed Roy, telling the man all he needed to know.
"Rest, love, rest." Edward urged Roy, knowing the spell he had already placed on the man. Roy sleepily closed his good eye and relaxed into sleep. Edward pulled Roy's hands from his face and frowned. He was glad to see the skin on Roy's eye had sealed up, but it left a scar. Nervous fingers ran over the wound, feeling for something they prayed wasn't there. Part of Roy's eye was gone; he would never be able to open it again to see. Edward shut his own eyes, cursing Dante for the damage she had done to them.
When Maes heard the gunshots it occurred to him he a gun as well. Since he knew that no one knew he was trapped on the other side of the wall, he would have to make his presence there known somehow if he wanted to be rescued. A gun would be perfect, Maes realized. It took him a while, fumbling in pitch dark, to find his gun and turn off the safety. He aimed at what he thought was the wall he had come in through and fired it.
No one on the other side was expecting a bullet to coming flying out of a nearby wall. It didn't get very far, having lost most of its power breaking through the wall.
"Help!!" Maes yelled as loud as he could through the tiny bullet hole. Armstrong walked over and transmuted the wall, revealing Maes and the cracked blood seal. Maes took in a scene he wasn't expecting. Edward had Roy in his lap and was protectively fussing over the man, completely obvious to everything else. Three men stood around a tacky chimera decoration, pointing guns at it while three more stood around and pointed guns at Dante's bloody, mangled corpse. Bradley was standing near Edward, looking like he was going to personally run anyone through who dared disturb that private moment.
"Dammit, I missed everything." Maes whined.
-break-
Roy awoke to look at an unfamiliar white ceiling and that overly-clean hospital smell. He groaned, quickly realizing he was again inside a hospital. He sat up and realized that his left eye wasn't opening. Carefully touching it, he felt that it had been sewn shut. He also felt the scar and valley where part of his eye was missing. Roy sighed and tried to move his other hand to have both held his face. Upon inspection left hand was being held by another hand; Edward's hand.
The young man was sitting in a chair holding Roy's hand. It was obvious he had fallen asleep while waiting for Roy to wake, as the boy's upper body was propped on the bed. Immediately, Roy's expression softened, a feeling of peace overcame him. Absently, Roy began to play with Edward's loose hair, enjoying its sensation.
"I'm whole…." Roy muttered out loud when he realized it. He was finally whole, and there was no force in this world that could take Edward from his side now. That's all that mattered.
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Holy shit. The story is over.
I'm going to be doing an epilogue (because there are some loose strings I needed to tie). I was planning on incorporating them into this chapter, but I realized that they just weren't fitting properly. So instead of forcing it, I gave the story a natural conclusion and set myself up for an epilogue. There will also be a RoyEd lemon and the Roy with a stick scene. I would like to thank everyone who has read and reviewed up until this point for staying with me this long.
I'm of the opinion that an epilogue is designed to satisfy lose ends and what not, but is not necessary to give a story a satisfying end. Was this a good ending? If not, what should I change? Please let me know.
Thank you for reading and reviewing and just being awesome,
Bar-Ohki