25. Loss.
T: Warnings remain the same and I still own nothing you see here other than the plot bunny!
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"How disappointing, I was rather looking forward to a big explosion." Kimberly remarks as he sets his foot onto the suits shoulder.
"I won't let you hurt her." He remarks as he balls even tighter about Martel.
"Why bother helping something like that, kid? It's not even human…though I suppose you aren't either." The casual remark sparks his anger and, surging upward, he crouches down into a fighting stance.
Kimberly attempts to use his alchemy to shatter the suit and, in retaliation, he uses his skills to create a cage for the other.
Martel makes good her escape while Kimberly is working his way through the wall and her absence means that he can now face Kimberly without fear.
A spark of flame stops the fight before it can truly begin and the imposing form of the colonel comes between them.
"This boy is under my jurisdiction, Kimberly and, as such, you can deal with your aggravation by filing a complaint, rather than with your fists." The colonel turns to him then and, a smile hidden in his eyes, he enquires,
"Can I have a word, Alphonse-kun?"
"Of course."
He follows the colonel to his office and, one the other is settled, he enquires,
"How can I help, sir?"
"I wanted to let you know that you do not have to feel obligated to remain here."
"I can not abandon 'niichan, colonel."
"Liore is a very dangerous place at the moment, Alphonse-kun and it is possible that he will not come back." The words are causal enough and yet there is something hidden within them that catches his attention.
"You are worried about him, aren't you, colonel?"
"He is under my care…"
"I am not a child, colonel, nor am I one to make prejudice judgements. You are worried about Edward because you care greatly for him and, that being the case, you should trust that he will do what he can come back to us."
The colonel smiles then and, running a hand through his hair, he says,
"You are right, of course. Thank you for putting my mind at ease, Alphonse."
"You are welcome, colonel."
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He has looked almost everywhere for Martel and has found no sign of the other. In desperation he has begun to return to rooms he has visited previously and explore every single nook and cranny.
He is just sneaking out from one such re-visitation when he all but walks into Havoc.
"Forgive me, Lieutenant."
"That's alright, Al, I wasn't looking where I was going anyway."
"Is something happening?"
"You'll bet something is happening! The fuhrer is arriving in a few minutes."
"I see." His task given a new sense of urgency he excuses himself from Havoc's side and, has just stepped out into the courtyard when he hears Martel calling his name.
"I've been worried about you, Martel! Quick, get inside before someone sees you."
Once the 'woman' is safe inside the armour she pressed herself to his visitor and says,
"You have to listen to me, Al…"
Her words shock him enough that he registers Bradley's presence a moment too late.
Blood is soaking into the armour, the liquid filled with memories of the woman who had been Martel.
Bradley watches him slump to his knees and then he says,
"I hope that you are alright, Alphonse-kun and that I did not harm you in the execution of she who had threatened your life."
Numb he can do nothing other than nod in show that he is, indeed, unharmed.
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Gravestones litter every inch of the ground before him and, if he squints, he can just make out more dotted upon the crest of the hill, all of a mile from where he stands.
"After Cornello's regime was exposed the military began to infiltrate into the city. Lyra will have made what happened next sound glorious and yet, in truth, it was little more than a blood bath. Thousands destroyed at the hands of the military and for what reason? Perhaps they saw how close those of Liore are to those of Ishibal."
"That was not the reason." He remarks, his voice sounding hollow even to his ears.
"I am going to create a stone and make sure that no one has to suffer such tyranny again."
"Even for such a reason I can not condone that action!" He has unconsciously, raised the level of his voice this increase enough to start Rose's baby crying.
He glances towards the child and his mind fills with the thought of how it had been conceived.
He can not squash the self revulsion that that thought sparks in his mind, nor halt the tears that begin to spill from his eyes.
He had believed, before coming to the city, that he was the 'people's alchemist', that there was no problem that he could not solve.
Now, surrounded by the graves of so many innocent people, he comprehends such an idea had been.
Comprehends that, no matter how strong his alchemy has become, he can not erase the agony that these people have experienced.
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T: Next updated on Thursday, until then why not review?