My heart roared in my ears as I followed Edward closely down the long staircase, Al's steel feet slamming loudly on the ground behind us. Adrenaline spike to the max, I struggled to breathe, almost to the point of hyperventilation. I was reminded vividly of the night I had fled the Tucker estate. It had been raining then too, and instead of the scarred man being my supposed savior, this time he was out for blood.
Edward swore and stumbled badly as the stairs beneath us shifted with a thunderous crack before coming apart in a shower of stone, throwing me and Edward into the air like rag dolls. Abruptly weightless, I screamed, staring wide eyed at the open space below me, my stomach jumping into my throat in terror. Before Ed and I could make it very far, I felt a violent jerk on the back of my collar. Al, who had somehow managed to catch us, me by my jacket and Ed by his shoe, strained to hold on to us as the loosened railing he was clinging to seemed to buckle under our combined weight. I stared down at the cobble stone street several stories below us and scrabbled at Al's hand, trying to get ahold of something, anything.
The scarred man jumped through the debris like a calm jungle cat, and landed on his feet on the platform below. Coolly, he placed his hand on the wall and it shattered under his touch, breaking the precarious grip Alphonse had on the railing and sending us all down to the next level. Ed and I slammed painfully into the stone, but we didn't have a second to rest as the man began stalking towards us again. "Hold on," Ed shouted, slamming his hands on the ground. The stairs writhed and then transformed into a protrusion of stone that extended us out over the street as I held on desperately, the sudden G-force nearly throwing me off.
"You're not getting away that easily," our assaulter claimed, turning our ride into dust. As it deconstructed beneath us, we were thrown down the slope of the street. We tumbled for a few steps before gaining our feet and continuing our desperate flight through the sodden streets.
"What the hell is this guy's problem," Ed exclaimed from behind me. "I don't remember doing anything that would make someone want to kill me!"
"Don't be modest," I said desperately, joking even as I ran for my life. "You are just so good at making friends!"
"Hey, if he's anyone's friend, he's yours! You saw him first!"
"Well you pissed him off!"
"Guys! This really isn't the time!" Al's words were soon proven true as the building beside us suddenly exploded, sending debris into our path. We skidded around the next corner and raced into an alleyway. We were forced to jump back, however, as the scarred man caused part of it to collapse in a violent shower of stone, blocking our exit. He stood menacingly at the only way out, the light behind him causing his shadow to snake into the dark ally. We backed away, cornered.
"Who are you, anyway," Ed shouted. "Why are you after us!?"
"As long as there are creators in this world, there must also be destroyers."
Ed shook his head. "What the hell kind of reason is that?!" Edward looked over and Al and I nodded as one. I took out my tonfa and held them before me aggressively while Alphonse did the same with his armored fists. "Looks like we are going to have to fight!" Ed grabbed a pipe sticking out of the debris behind us and quickly transmuted it into a wicked knife, bringing it in front of him with a clank of metal.
Together, we charged at the man, our feet splashing in the puddles on the street. My heart beat wildly as we got closer to the still composed figure who seemed completely unconcerned that three armed teenagers were charging him. A second later he showed us why.
"Too slow," he said, before spinning rapidly and throwing Ed into the street slamming me and Alphonse back into the alley. I didn't see the blow coming, but I certainly felt it when his foot blasted into my gut and blew the air out of my lungs. I smashed back into the wall with a crack and fell to my hands and knees, coughing and struggling to breath through the pain.
Al got to his feet before me and tried to attack, shielding me behind his large body, but the man was too quick. With a cold gaze he destroyed another section of the wall, sending stone falling down on our heads. I looked up and watched, as if in slow motion, the stones and sharp metal falling towards us. There was nowhere to escape, nowhere to hide, and not even a moment to draw more than a strangled breath for a cry of terror.
The next few moments were a blur of confusion and pain as I screamed. I was slammed into repeatedly, and when the dust cleared I found myself pinned to the ground by stone and iron bars. Alphonse stood above me holding a large section of the wall over us, his arms creaking with the effort, and keeping me from being completely crushed. I struggled to move, but instantly severe spikes of pain through my ribs and legs stopped me and I clenched my teeth in agony.
"Al! Alex!" Ed shouted desperately, rushing back to the alley at the scarred man with a furious cry.
Our attacker merely grabbed Edward's leading arm and the boy was blasted back with a startled yell. The cloth around where the man had touched was instantly shredded, but Ed's arm remained undamaged. His eyes widened in surprise.
"Automail," he said to himself. "Of course. That's why it couldn't be deconstructed like flesh…" He had already dismissed Al and I completely from his mind, turning his back on us to face his true target fully.
I groaned in agony as Al struggled to hold the weight above me, his armor creaking loudly with the strain. My vision blurred and I struggled to stay awake. "Alex, hold on," Al said, strain apparent in his voice. I tried to move, but my bones shifted and cracked under the weight of the stone that was trapping me, and my jaw opened in a silent scream. I could tell that several of my bones were broken, and I stopped moving as terror tore through my veins. I coughed convulsively and blood trickled out of my mouth. I couldn't…breathe…
"Alex, stop moving! Stay with me! Alex!" The stone shifted above us and Al fell to his knees.
Spots danced before my eyes…and then my vision went black.
o-0-o
Edward fell back with a startled cry as the man sent a wave of powerful energy through his fake limb, jarring his entire body and shredding the sleeve of his blue military uniform. Pushing aside the shock, he got back to his feet after he was thrown into the street and brought his hands up immediately, clapping them together before transmuting the protection plates on his automail arm into a long knife. Edward's heart, which had already been pounding in his ears in terror, was now roaring in his head with fury. The man stood in between him and his brothers, who were helplessly pinned behind him.
Ed's eyes flickered to his flesh brother and he started in alarm as he saw that blood was trickling out of his mouth. He was clearly pinned, unable to move, and even as Ed watched, the boy fell limp, Al still trying to keep them both from being crushed.
Dammit! Ed's eyes flickered between them and his opponent, on the edge of complete panic. He had to finish this now!
"I see," the murderer said in his deep voice, completely unaffected by the plight of the beings behind him. "You create transmutation circle with your arms."
Edward surged forward with a furious yell, his automail arm leading, intending to skewer the terrorist. He didn't care that it was another human being, he went for the kill. No one hurt his brothers, dammit!
Before he could complete his wild charge, his arm was held in a powerful grip. Ed struggled desperately, but the hand holding him was as strong as the steel his automail was made of. "I'll just have to get rid of this then."
A flash of light was suddenly all the blonde could see, and then all he could feel was agony as all of the nerves in his port fired off at once. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he slammed into the ground and then convulsed, the shattered remains of his automail scattering around him. For several seconds he was unable to move, unable to process the sudden onslaught of pain, even worse than getting his automail attached for the first time.
When he came to with a violent jerk, the man was still standing in the same spot. In between him and his brothers. With blurred eyes, Ed stared at them, trying desperately to push back his pain enough to move. They were hurt! In trouble! And he wasn't doing anything, frozen from weakness. A cry from Alphonse made the man before the injured boy twitch and begin to turn towards the trapped brothers, and Ed experienced an almost painful surge of adrenaline, forcing his unresponsive limbs to lift him off the ground before the scarred man could do any more damage. NO!
With drunken steps he ran at the terrorist and swung his automail leg wildly, intending to slam it into his despicable neck. But that was also caught easily. "This too," the man said and in another flash of blinding light Edward was again thrown to the ground. This time, the pain lasted a lot longer, and he could feel blood trickling from his leg where his port attached. Edward choked on his air and tears streamed down his face as he twitched in pain, another of his limbs scattered on the street. Rain still continued to sprinkle on his face, doing nothing for him as his body felt like it was on fire.
"Brother!" Al desperately cried from where he was trapped under the portion of the wall. Ed saw him try to come to his aid, but the stone shifted dangerously and Al fell a little closer to the ground.
"Don't move, Al!" Ed gasped, struggling to sit up despite his agony. Alex was limp beneath Alphonse and he wasn't moving. Ed's breath caught in his throat and he began to panic. He wasn't moving! The large man stepped towards him, and Ed snapped back to his own desperate situation. Edward tried to back up, but fell on his side, his missing arm no longer there to break his fall.
He glared at the despicable man stalking towards him, his vision blurring at the edges. Why! It was so unfair. Only that morning they had been wrestling on the floor, having fun. Al had laughed, and Alex had looked so happy! How could this have happened?
The man stalked forward, and every time his boot hit the unyielding ground, it sounded like thunder to the besieged boy.
Ed wanted to move, to run away, but he was as helpless as a kitten, his metal limbs destroyed and his mind blown white with pain. He looked up into the man's cold, dead eyes hidden behind his glasses, and saw death. Death for him, and death for his brothers.
"Just promise me one thing," Ed said in a rasping, terrified voice, grasping onto his last shred of hope. The man tilted his head and Ed continued, a little stronger. "You are only after me, right? Just promise me you won't go after my brothers…"
The older man glared coldly at the defeated state alchemist beneath him, as if he were a mere bug beneath his feet waiting to be crushed. "It is only you that will be receiving judgment today. I give my word."
The man brought his hand slowly towards the boy's head, and Edward felt himself go limp. This was it. With his sacrifice, maybe the menace would leave and Al and Alex could get help.
Even as a cripple, he could do this.
He heard his brother screaming at him to get up and run, but Ed couldn't, even if he had wanted to. It had all led up to this point. It was over…"I'm sorry, Al…Alex…" he whispered. "I won't be able to get our bodies back after all…"
The scarred man rested his hand gently on Edward's head in a sick imitation of comfort. "Praise God, for you are saved." Ed closed his eyes bitterly at the words. No, if there ever was a god, he had abandoned the boy long ago. Before the scarred man could strike his final blow, Edward thought of the gentle touch of his mother. Then he let go.
"That's enough!" A voice shouted angrily, and a gun was fired into the air with a resounding crack. Ed's eyes snapped open as the hand that had been against his head suddenly pulled back, the boy taking a breath he had not expected to take ever again.
Mustang stood at the end of the street, his men surrounding him with guns pointed at the terrorist. The colonel stood in front with a furious expression on his face, taking in the damage done to Edward Elric and his brothers. Some of the men behind him skirted around 'Scar', as he had been dubbed by the investigations department, and went to Alphonse's side, immediately beginning to help him clear the rubble from Alex, who appeared to be unconscious. Scar stepped away over the prone form of Edward, whose fake limbs scattered the ground around him, and a puddle of blood grew under the stump of his leg. Mustang growled in fury to see the boys in such condition. They were placed under his protection! No one hurt his men!
"Lieutenant colonel Mustang," Scar growled in the back of his throat. "The Flame Alchemist. It seems God has put you in my path as well." In a burst of motion, he began running at the colonel and grinned rabidly. "This is truly an auspicious day," he shouted.
Mustang began to bring his hand in front of him to snap, releasing all of his fury in a mighty wave of cleansing flame, but he cursed loudly when he realized that his ignition glove was wet. Damn useless…! He fired his handgun at the man, Hawkeye falling in beside him and doing the same, her expression fierce. The man dodged the bullets deftly and disappeared behind a wall.
Havoc swiftly ran to Edward's side, pulling the boy to a sitting position. "Ed, are you still with me?" he asked the shocked blonde. Edward nodded numbly, his eyes still blown open wide and breathing as if every breath was his last as he watched the stalemate between Mustang and Scar.
"It is fortunate that you cannot make your blasphemous flames, state alchemist." Scar growled as he stepped out from his cover. "For I will destroy everyone who would interfere with my mission, right here and now!"
"I'd like to see you try it!" A huge figure bounded up behind scar and slammed a massive fist into the ground, sending crushed stone flying from the spot the tanned man had been standing. Scar deftly dodged out of the way with his almost inhuman speed and faced the newcomer.
The large, bald man stood to his full height, an impressive seven feet. He was built like a tank, and had a short blonde mustache and a single lock of curled yellow hair. "You have to be quick to avoid my fist! Not bad!" He said in an exuberant voice, his blue eyes sparkling even in the dim afternoon light. "You said you were going to destroy us all. In that case, why don't you start by defeating me!? Alex Louise Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist!"
"Another state alchemist," Scar said, exposing his canines fiercely. "God is putting them in my path for me."
"Not backing down? For your courage you deserve a demonstration." He picked up a large stone from the ground and tossed it into the air. "Behold! The art of alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations!" He slammed his fist into the stone and it exploded into a barrage of spikes.
"Who is he?" Ed asked Havoc. The blonde man was supporting the boy on the ground, his presence a comforting warmth at the exhausted boy's side as he watched the ludicrous battle going on in front of him.
"We call him Scar. He's the one who has been murdering state alchemists lately," He said lowly. "Hey, Armstrong! Try not to destroy the whole city, won't you!"
"What do you mean!?" The exuberant man suddenly took of his shirt and flexed his considerable muscles, nearly blinding everyone in the vicinity. "Creation and destruction are two sides of the same coin! You must destroy to create! That is the law of the universe!"
Havoc grimaced. "Great, I shouldn't have said anything. The lunatic's taken off his shirt again…"
"Most alchemists would not understand that basic truth, but we do, don't we Scar," Armstrong said to his opponent, suddenly serious.
"Of course," Ed said, the sudden realization hitting him. "He's an alchemist too! I didn't realize it because he stops at the deconstruction stage of alchemy, simply destroying everything in a violent release of energy instead of using that energy to recreate matter into something new."
"The who what now? I don't know anything about alchemy kid…But if Scar is an alchemist as well, doesn't that mean he's strayed from his way of god…?"
In a burst of strength and sudden motion, Armstrong launched himself at his opponent and furiously began raining blows with alchemy and his bare fists. It was a stunning display of strength to watch the two battle, Armstrong's fists moving faster than the eye could see and Scar dodging just as quickly, destroying everything Armstrong sent at him in brilliant flashes of light.
"But why is he only targeting alchemists with a state certification," Mustang mumbled to himself, stepping beside Edward and Havoc as he watched. He glanced at his young charge, taking in the considerable damage and grimacing angrily before sending a glare at Scar.
Scar backpedalled furiously as Armstrong suddenly upped the anti. He dodged left, then right, and then found himself against a wall with no way to escape. "I have you cornered Scar!" Armstrong brought his fist down powerfully and Scar extended his hand, about to destroy the alchemist before him no matter how much damage he took, when Armstrong suddenly pulled back.
Scar looked around in surprise, and barely dodged as a barrage of bullets suddenly slammed into the wall beside him. He dodged them all, save for one stray that grazed his temple, knocking off the glasses that hid his eyes from view. Scar glared around him and everyone gasped in recognition.
"Red eyes and brown skin! You are an Ishvalan!" Armstrong pulled back slightly in shock as he stared into the familiar red eyes that he had hoped to never see again.
"Perhaps there are too many…" Scar muttered to himself, ignoring the talk around him. Before anyone could make another move, he dropped to the ground and it shattered beneath him in a blast of dust and debris.
When the dust cleared, Mustang looked down into the sizable hole that had been created. "Damn, he escaped into the sewers…" He looked over his shoulders to his men. "Don't follow him."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Havoc muttered.
"Sorry, Armstrong," Mustang said, patting his fellow alchemist on the arm. "Thanks for buying us some time."
"I was hardly buying time," Armstrong said, his usual exuberance subdued. "It was all I could do not to be killed. That man is no novice."
"Is it over?" The two men turned as Hughes popped his head out from behind a truck, taking in the scene.
"Lieutenant colonel Hughes, where have you been this whole time!" Armstrong said, slightly irritated.
"What do you mean!? What was I supposed to do in a fight between inhuman freaks?! No thanks, us normal folk should stick back!"
Mustang sighed irritably. "Just get to work, Hughes."
"Right, what are you all standing around for, get a perimeter up and circulate Scar's image!"
"Yes sir!" Hughes' men moved out in a flurry of flying coat tails and pounding feet.
"Al! Alex!" Ed suddenly shouted, his voice strangled and tense, crawling towards where he could see his brothers still struggling in the destroyed alley. He ground his teeth in frustration as he could not see what was going on from his vantage point on the wet street.
"Whoa, kid, let me help you," Havoc said, lifting Ed to his one foot. He stumbled as Ed strained against him trying to get to his brothers. The men who had come with Mustang had managed to shift the debris off of Alex and moved him from the wreckage. Alphonse let down the huge slab of stone with a crash and ran to Alex's prone form just as Edward got there himself. Edward pushed off of Havoc and fell to the ground harshly on his side, and crawled the rest of the way towards his younger brother.
The men surrounding Alex backed off as the two boys reached him, giving the brothers space. After all, there was nothing they could do for the boy…Mustang walked forward, gesturing for the spares to follow Hughes. With a salute, they left, leaving only his personal cabinet behind. Mustang turned his gaze towards the three brothers and watched in silence, heart sinking and expression grim. What a tragedy...he had just started to see the intriguing young man as a friend, and then this happened...
"Alex…Alex!" Ed screamed, taking in the damage to his little brother. The boy's legs were crushed, blood oozing out of them from several places where the stone had pierced his clothes and flesh, but worst of all, the left part of his chest was caved in, a bloody furrowed indention in his side. Ed's shaking hand hovered over Alex uselessly, but there was nothing he could do. '
Alex's eyes, usually so bright and full of life, were wide open and reflecting the grey sky, blank and dull. Dead.
"No…" Al whispered, his armor shaking with his grief. "I couldn't protect him. The building was falling… and I wasn't strong enough…!"
Ed's breath hitched in denial and he slowly brought his face to Alex, resting it on his chest. He listened hard over the pounding of his own heart to hear the beating of his little brother's.
"Come on, Alex, where are your amazing healing powers? Come on…!" The seconds ticked by and Hawkeye walked forward and placed a hand on Edward's shoulder.
"Ed, he's gone…He's not breathing..."
"Come on…!" Ed growled desperately, shaking off her hand with a violent twist of his shoulder and hunching over Alex. The adults shook their heads and looked between each other forlornly. A long minute passed by in silence and Ed's face crumpled in grief as the boy's chest continued to remain still. Edward lifted his head slowly and placed his hand gently on Alex's cheek. The earring he had made him clinked slightly as he brushed Alex's hair aside, trying to see some spark of light in the boy's uncharacteristically dull eyes. But there was nothing...
Alphonse, who had been silently sitting back, leaned forward as well, his armor clanking. He gently picked up Alex's lifeless hand and brought it to his face, hoping beyond hope to feel something of their connection, some piece of his soul that remained…
Death was all he felt.
It couldn't be...Why wasn't Alphonse stronger? Why couldn't he protect him? It wasn't fair that he had to leave them…not like this. Never like this…
Mustang turned away, and he gestured for his officers to follow him. When Hawkeye would not budge, he patted her on the shoulder and pulled her away. "Sir," Hawkeye whispered, "We need to get an ambulance for Edward..."
"One is already on its way. Let them mourn in peace until then." The woman nodded, a deep frown on her face, and the two respectfully turned their backs, walking a decent distance away.
Ed leaned forward and kissed his brother on the brow, his cheeks wet from crying and eyes clenched shut in grief. Alex was still warm, and for just a moment, Ed wanted to imagine that he would simply wake up from a dream and Alex would be alright, laughing and annoying him like he had that morning.
But the wide open eyes and the blood on his face denied that fantasy when Ed opened his eyes. The boy choked out a sob and pulled away, feeling helpless.
As he leaned back, his pocket watch fell loose from his pocket and brushed Alex on the side. Irritably, he started to grab it and put it back in his pocket.
"Ed! I felt something!" Al suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone's eyes to be drawn to the suddenly animated suit of armor.
Ed dropped the pocket watch he had just grabbed in shock and this time it fell heavily on Alex's chest. As it struck him, a bout of red sparks arched between the watch and the boy, and for a brief second, Alex's dull green eyes flashed a vibrant red before fading back to emptiness.
"That was it! Ed, he's reacting to your watch!" Alphonse gripped Alex's hand desperately as he felt a spark of emotion from the still boy. He could still be saved!
Ed grabbed the watch and held it in front of his face dumbly.
"Mustang," Ed yelled suddenly. Mustang walked back to the two boys curiously.
"What is it Fullmetal?" He had seen the sparks the watch had emitted and he was frowning in confusion.
"You said when you gave me this pocket watch that it served as an alchemical booster for state alchemists. Why is that?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but what does that have to do with–Ed, what are you doing?!" the man shouted in alarm.
Edward ripped the silver watch on his belt and began slamming it on the ground furiously. "There's only one thing–" slam "that Alex reacts to–" slam "like that–" he slammed it again and the watch shattered against the concrete. Pieces of the watch flew in different directions, glimmering silver parts flying and flashing through the air as the shattered glass gleamed in the light, and a small capsule was revealed. "and it can save him!" Ed grabbed the small silver capsule and broke it open, revealing gleaming red stones.
Mustang stared at the stones in shock. What the hell...?
Edward frantically grabbed one of the stones and moved it towards Alex's lips desperately. "Brother, wait," Al said suddenly, stopping Edward in his tracks. "What if he goes crazy again? You know how terrified he is of that happening."
"At least he'll still be alive," Edward looked into his remaining brother's red eyes fiercely, and a moment passed between them. Al nodded.
"Do it."
Edward brought the little gem, red as Alex's blood that still stained his face, to the still boy's lips and placed it in his mouth.
Mustang's black eyes flickered between the three boys in confusion, not sure exactly what was going on. He didn't have a moment to think about it however when he was suddenly blinded by a flash of intense red light and thrown back by a furious gust of wind.
Dudes, you have no idea how hard it was for me to write this chapter. Not so much because I don't like it or had writer's block or something, it was just that I had a big decision to make that would affect how everything went down at the fifth lab later. And I just couldn't decide! Whether to give Alex another red stone or not...It was killing me! This will majorly speed up Alex's character development faster than it would have been in the original chapter where he wasn't all that badly hurt and just healed on his own. Which means the plot will be picking up pretty swiftly. And yeah, both of Ed's limbs were destroyed because in the original story Alphonse was that severely damaged and in my version he made it out ok. So balance. Plus I need an excuse for Alex to be in close contact...well, you'll see.
And red stones in the pocket watch? Mustang's like 'wtf, dudes.' First clue of government corruption. Just as a side note, this episode in the anime is one of my absolute favorites. Hands down. I love it how Scar is some kind of all powerful being and he almost kills Ed but is stopped at the very last minute! So exciting! And the brotherly moment was one of the best, too. Yep, great episode.
Next Chapter: Drama and return of everyone's favorite cat lizard! Don't worry, I will eventually name him...Review!
