Surprise! I updated early! I know I said I'd probably be too busy to write with freshman orientation but things didn't go as planned. Wednesday, we were barely an hour into orientation. My group was touring the campus and we were just walking along and the next thing I know people were helping me off of the ground. Apparently, I blacked out and face planted into the concrete. They took me to the hospital, pumped me full of fluids, and sent me home. So yeah, my first college experience was a bust. You guys should see my face, it looks like I got mugged or something. Anyway, I was fine after a good night's sleep and I spent all of yesterday writing this chapter. Hope you guys like it!


Chapter 52

The Final Battle

(-Dante-)

She stood in the large ballroom with Taylor by her side, the girl completely unaware of anything around her. Shortly after learning all of the girl's secrets, Envy had come earlier to warn Dante of the Elrics' approach and she decided that tonight she would be rid of them once and for all. They had caused too much trouble for her in the past and had outlived their usefulness, not to mention they were the sons of Hohenheim. She would make certain that they could not prevent her plans of using Taylor's inner stone.

The front doors opened and in walked Edward and Alphonse. They immediately saw the two women standing side by side.

"Lyra?" Al gasped in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Dante smirked. Despite this girl knowing the truth behind the Homunculi's true master these boys did not. Now it did not matter if they knew or not, for they would never leave here alive.

"Taylor!" Ed called for her, alarmed to see the arrays on her body glowing a deep red color. The girl didn't even twitch as she stared off into space.

"I'm afraid she won't answer you. She's too far under my control," Dante told them in amusement.

Ed narrowed his eyes at her, "What did you do to her, Lyra? What's your part in all of this? Are you working with the Homunculi?"

She laughed at that, "How silly. They work for me. And as for Lyra, she no longer inhabits this body."

"But that's….just who are you?" Al asked, just as confused as Ed.

She smiled, "I can see how it may be hard for you to recognize me, seeing as how the last time I saw you in Dublith I wore a wrinkled face."

Ed hesitated for a moment, not wanting to believe it, but asked, "Dante?"

"Very good of you Edward."

"How is that even possible?" Al asked.

Ed's mouth set in a grim line, "I see now. Greed didn't kill you. You simply used a stone to transfer your soul to another body, Lyra's body. Just how long have you been doing this?"

"Give or take four hundred years, using a Philosopher's Stone whenever I needed a new body."

"So you murdered countless lives just for that?"

"Why would you do such a thing?" Al asked.

"Because I was worth it," she told them. Then she turned to the girl beside her and caressed her cheek, "But I no longer need to look for the stone because I've already found one in her."

"Don't you touch her!" Ed seethed. "Taylor! Get away from her!"

"She can't hear you either," Dante told him. "She's but a puppet on a string and I am her master." She reached down and within the blink of an eye she slit Taylor's palm. A thin cut appeared and blood began to seep from her hand. "And with the power of her stone I can use her to handle the two of you."

"I don't think so!" Edward shouted, clapping his hands and sending a massive hand in Dante's direction. But it was too late. Dante had already activated the stone's power and the girl's tattoos began to glow with renewed vigor. The blood red glow seeped into her eyes as she raised a hand to disintegrate the wave of earth created by Ed with ease.

Dante smirked and ordered the girl, "Kill them."

Taylor did not hesitate and used the stone's power to create two blades. Ed's eyes widened as she lunged for him, intent on obeying her master's command.


(-Ed-)

This can't be happening…

"Stop!" Edward yelled, shielding his body with his automail arm. Taylor sunk her blades into it, the friction causing sparks. Her eyes never made contact with his. They shone with a tainted light and she seemed unaffected by her actions.

"Brother!" Al shouted, overcoming his shock to move in and intercept Taylor's next attack. It gave Ed enough time to stumble back and catch his bearings. He watched Al defend himself against Taylor's fierce strikes.

What the hell is going on…?

Ed's heart raced at the sight of two of the people he cared most about going at each other, one simply shielding himself and the other aiming to kill. There was nothing in her of the girl he knew. Taylor had never possessed such fighting skills as she displayed now.

"Snap out of it! Please! I don't want to fight you! It's me, Al!"

But the boy's pleas fell on deaf ears as she continued her graceful swings, her accurate kicks, and had Al flailing about as he struggled to keep up with her swift agility. If Ed didn't do something Al would soon be in pieces.

Why her…?

How could he fight her? He could never hurt her, even as she was now. This was Taylor. He had to reach her somehow! He had to save her! He had promised to protect her so he had to focus and figure out how to stop this!

Ed looked away from the fight to see Dante standing calmly across the ballroom. As if sensing his gaze, she turned to stare at him.

"What will you do now, Edward?" she smirked.

I can't lose her…

His body tensed with fury. She had planned to have them die by the hands of their friend. It sickened him and enraged him until he was nearly seeing red. His hands ached to take out his anger on the woman in front of him. Dante had said it herself, she was the one controlling Taylor. If he removed her then Taylor would be free. So he clapped his hands and transmuted a blade onto his automail arm.

"I won't let you have her!" Ed snarled as he raced towards the woman. He reared his arm back, ready to hit his mark. With only a yard between them a figure flipped over him and blocked his blow. Ed gasped, seeing that his blade was inches from slicing into Taylor's neck.

Ed jumped back away from her, only to have Taylor follow him. She swung, he dodged. She pivoted towards him, he maneuvered away. And so went the deadly dance.

Please…

"Wake up!" Ed screamed and still her face showed no recognition. Ed knew that somewhere inside her was the girl he had grown to care for so much. She was right there but damn it, he couldn't reach her!

Al tried his luck going after Dante next while Ed kept Taylor busy. Again, the possessed girl sensed it and moved to protect Dante. Al went back to the defensive and Ed joined in as they tried in vain to contain her. All they could do was block her blows as they refused to hurt her.

Ed caught one of Taylor's wrists and intercepted the other's blade. With her restrained for the moment, he cried, "Al!"

"Right!" Al responded and drew an array onto the floor within seconds. The tile rose, covered in blue sparks, to encase Taylor. Just as it appeared that it had worked, red sparks crackled around Taylor's body and blew away all that was around her. The brothers were pushed back in opposite directions.

Ed lifted himself off the ground, swiping at his bloodied lip. He glanced across the room to see Al picking himself up as well. Their gazes met and they nodded in complete understanding. At the same time, they charged Dante from both sides. Taylor snapped her head back and forth between them, unsure of which one to go after. With a moment's uncertainty, Taylor unleashed the full extent of her stone.

The building shook as from all directions pillars were formed, air was blown in harsh gusts, and ice exploded in the atmosphere itself to pelt lethal shards towards the brothers. Al was trapped under a beam that fell from the ceiling. Ed shielded himself by transmuting a wall to stop the ice but a pillar from the wall knocked him out into the open. He landed hard on the ground and rolled out of the way from a large icicle thrown towards him and embedded itself in the floor instead. Ed flipped backwards and nearly lost his balance when something else was thrown at him.

"Taylor!" Ed screamed as he fought his way through the chaos towards her as she stood in front of Dante. "You have to fight this! You can't let her control you-" He was cut off as he was knocked off his feet. He didn't even know what had knocked him down but he struggled until he was finally upright again. He couldn't give up now!

Come back to me…

Fighting through the gusting wind, Edward called to her, "I know you're in there somewhere! You're strong! Don't let her use you!"

More shards of ice pelted him. Some struck deeper than others and yet, he pushed forward. She was steps away and he wasn't about to back down now.

When he closed in on her she lifted one of her weapons to attack him. Ed ducked and knocked it out of her hand. Without pausing, he clapped his hands and touched the other blade, deconstructing it into sand. Taylor jumped up to kick him and Ed blocked her, knocking her off balance in the process. She staggered and Ed rushed in to grab her wrists and stand before her.

Staring fiercely into her reddened eyes, he told her, "Taylor, you have to wake up! Look at who you're fighting! It's me, Ed! Come back to me Taylor!"

She stopped for a moment and it seemed the havoc she was unleashing died down as well. Then her hand sparked red as she broke his hold and stabbed a frozen spear of her own blood straight through Ed's chest.

Time stood frozen. He glanced down. His eyes were wide and unseeing. He couldn't process what had just happened. He couldn't believe it.

Then the protrusion was pulled from his body and a torrent of blood bathed the floor. Ed choked and coughed, almost falling. He couldn't breath. His vision was blurred. He stumbled forwards and grabbed onto Taylor's shoulders. She stood there impassively and waited for him to fall. His legs trembled and he slowly sank to the floor, his hands still clutching at her. He tightened his grip and wouldn't let go. Taylor removed one hand and raised the other that fisted both her shirt and necklace. She tugged at it to make him let go, snapping the chain of the necklace and Ed's last hold.

He sank to his knees. His sight blurred. The pain…

No…

He fell onto his back. He couldn't breath. The taste of copper filled his mouth. The puddle of liquid continued to grow as his life seeped out of him. Darkness edged around his vision. He looked up to Taylor. She stood there, watching him.

"Taylor," he called out weakly, raising his right hand. The necklace's chain was caught in the automail fingers and the flamel symbol clinked against the metal.

Then his eyelids fluttered shut as he shuddered his last breath.


(-Taylor-)

Her eyes caught the gleam of the red and black cross as the arm fell to the ground. She leaned down and plucked the object from the still hand. She brought it to her face and examined it, watching as the light glittered across the smooth surface and the liquid marring the cross. The red blood blended with the necklace. The blood…the blood…his blood…

She looked past the necklace to the body on the ground. No movement. Still as the dead…surrounded by his life's blood…his blood…Edward's blood…Ed's blood…

The red glow from her arrays flickered as she frowned down at the body, perplexed. The body…his body…his dead body…Ed's dead body…Ed's dead body…Ed's dead…Ed's dead…Ed's dead…!

"Ed?" I gasped as I blinked in bewilderment. First I saw the bloodied necklace I was holding. Then I saw Edward's prone form lying on the ground. That was all it took for it all to come flashing back to me.

"Ed!" I let the necklace slide through my fingers and dropped to my knees beside him. I grabbed his shoulders and shook gently, yet desperately. "Ed! Edward! Come on! No, no, no, no. Please, no!"

But his eyes were dull and unblinking. His chest never rose to breathe. His skin's warmth was fading. The hole in his chest had killed him. I had killed him.

"No, please wake up! I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Ed! Please, I'm sorry," I sobbed, hovering over him. He couldn't die. Not like this! I couldn't let him go!

I pressed my hand down on his wound, drops of my blood from the shallow cut there mingling with his. I closed my eyes against the tears and willed him to heal. The stone was enough to save Hughes. I could save Ed too. I had to!

Heat raced from my hand and into his body as the stone's power stitched together the torn flesh. I opened my eyes to see the last bits close, the only thing to show he had been injured being the rip in his shirt. I glanced up to his face but his eyes were still glazed. My last bit of hope sank. Why didn't it work? What did I do wrong? Was I too late?

I shook my head as a new onslaught of grieve pounded into my heart. I pulled him towards me and placed my forehead against his limp golden hair. "Please don't leave me," I begged brokenly, rocking back and forth. "I need you…please don't go…please…I'm sorry."

As I whispered to him my mind raced with questions. Why hadn't the stone been enough? It should be more than enough. It had brought me back after all. I had received the same injury Ed had and the stone had worked to bring me back. I had died and it had saved me. I had always wondered about that though. Whenever I was hurt and passed out my body subconsciously healed me every time. If I had died then I couldn't have possibly activated the stone myself. Ed had told me he had held me when I had died. It must have been him that had activated my stone. He wouldn't have even realized it, so covered in my blood as I was. I knew from experience that the stone reacted to the users will instantaneously. Ed must have wanted to bring me back and did so. But then I was doing that same thing now and it hadn't worked! Why hadn't it worked?

As I thought around the emotional pain, I wondered what Ed had done differently. What had he wanted that was enough to bring me back. He had wanted me more than just healed. He wanted me, my soul to come back. I had to focus on more than just his body. His soul should be at the gate right now. If I could specifically call it back to his body then I could save him!

With a newfound determination, I set Ed softly back down. "I'll bring your soul back. I promise," I said as I clapped my hands and used the iron from the blood around us to fashion a knife. The cut in my palm had closed and I needed to cut it once again. I didn't even hesitate to slice at the skin.

Before I could make the cut, my wrist was caught by none other than Envy. He raised me effortlessly into the air, took the knife from me, and threw me away from Ed. I thudded across the ground and took a moment to sit up. I scanned the room around me and for the first time became aware of my surroundings. Through all the agony I had been unable to hear Al's wails and Envy's approach. And Dante had stood in the same place. Where as before she had been smirking now she seethed with anger, glaring at me. But she became distracted by Envy.

"He was mine to kill! Mine!" Envy barked at the woman as he gestured to Ed's body. "You promised me!"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "There is still one more for you to dispose of. With the girl breaking my alchemy she won't be a problem in that regard. However, it is a problem for me."

Envy would have yelled more but Gluttony was suddenly tossed into the room…well, half of him. I nearly puked, seeing that his lower half looked like it had been chopped off. His legs began to regenerate as he crawled towards Dante.

"Master! He's here!" Gluttony cried to her, glancing back behind him in fear.

"You again!" Envy shouted as a figure entered the room. "You're just asking to be killed, aren't you? I still haven't paid you back for what you did last time we met."

Like always, Fate's expression was blank as he surveyed the damage. His eyes skimmed over each and every one of us, landing on me last. He gazed at me coldly and spoke to me, "You have lost." He began walking towards me purposefully.

I tightened my fist, "Not yet! I can still save him!"

"Taylor! Run! Get out of here!" Al yelled at me, still trapped where he was. But I would not listen. I would not leave them here, not with Al trapped and Ed waiting to be revived. I would not runaway when there was still a chance!

"The girl is mine. I won't let you take her," Dante narrowed her eyes at Fate. His eyes never strayed to her. He just continued to make his way towards me. "Envy. Gluttony."

Both of them moved to stop him. I didn't linger to watch how Fate responded. I turned from them and ran towards Ed. My vision focused on him. All I could see was him and my need to bring him back. I was almost there when both of my wrists were grabbed, forcing me to come to a halt. One wrist was held by Dante and the other by Fate. They both activated my tattoos simultaneously and the battle began. Both the scalding fire and freezing flames fought each other for dominance and I was left fighting with all of my soul against the two invading presences. I pulled at their grips but they remained clinging to me. However, I managed to pull them closer and inch by inch I closed the distance. Then finally, I closed the last inch and brought my hands together. A whirlwind surrounded me and the brightest light I'd ever known engulfed me entirely.


(-Izumi-)

"Thanks for the backup," Izumi said to Brosch as Sig helped her to a seat to regain her strength. Both her and her husband had been holding off Archer and her men when Ross and Brosch had come back to help them with other soldiers to ward off the others. Archer finally gave up and fled and now things were temporarily peaceful.

"No problem," Brosch nodded, smiling as Ross directed the other officers.

Suddenly, the building shook fiercely. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around wildly.

"An earthquake?" Ross asked aloud.

Izumi stood back up, Sig standing protectively by her side. He glanced down to her questioningly.

"I don't think this is an ordinary earthquake," she said. Izumi nearly lost her footing when the building trembled violently. From out the windows a bright flash of red light shone, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

As Izumi looked away from the intense light she sensed that this had something to do with Edward and Alphonse. She feared that they were too late.


(-Mustang-)

He stumbled out the front door, the house behind him crackling and dying as flames ate its structure. Mustang made it as far as the front yard. There, he collapsed onto the ground. In his arms he clutched the dead body of Selim Bradley. He knew it had been a foolish effort, but he had saved the boy from the fire…even though he couldn't save him from his 'father'.

Mustang lowered the boy onto the grass and stared at him for the longest time. He had nearly died himself in there, fighting the homunculus known as Pride. If it hadn't of been for Selim's unknowing help he would have perished. As it was, he had lost a lot of blood and was fighting to stay awake.

A vague rumble vibrated underneath him as the earth seemed to shake faintly. Puzzled, Mustang glanced up and around him. A couple miles away in the direction of Central command, he was shocked to see a bright redness light the night sky.

"Fullmetal," he muttered under his breath. His instincts screamed at him that those kids were there, that something had gone wrong, and that they needed help. But he had reached his limits. He had done his part and, as he slipped into unconsciousness, he could only pray that the others were strong enough to make it out alive.


(-Taylor-)

The disorientation lasted for several minutes. Even after I opened my eyes I still couldn't comprehend where I was, what was happening. I looked around and only saw dark blurs. I moved on my hands and knees, trying to feel out my surroundings. The ground was cold and rocky. I came across a wall and I sat back against it. Next, I felt at my body for injuries. Thankfully, there was none. So all I was left to do was sit there, relax my breathing, and try to rid my mind of the dark haze.

Slowly, my vision adjusted to the low lighting. I craned my head backwards to search for the source of the light. I saw the ceiling, riddled with cracks wide enough to allow moonlight to seep through. I wondered if the building had somehow caved in. That meant the others were probably trapped as well. I needed to find Al. He'd be easier to locate and then together we could hunt for Ed.

I lowered my gaze to see the room around me. Now that I was more focused, I could see things more clearly. It almost looked like I was in a circular cave. In the center was some sort of altar. Confused, I got to my knees to stand. But I froze in the middle of the action. Because when I looked down I noticed the white lines circling and crisscrossing the ground. I recognized them instantly. They were the same arrays that tattooed my body.

With a gasp, I realized I wasn't anywhere near the ballroom. I was in the tunnel where I originally found the Philosopher's Stone in my world. I was back where it all began.


I have a feeling that there will be a lot of angry reviews for this one. But never fear! There is a method to my madness!

So tell me what you think. I had to go about this chapter carefully and I'm still thinking through a couple of kinks for the next couple of chapters. This chapter was kinda different than what I imagined but I like it...I think...eh, just tell me if it sucked or not and I'll be happy. ^_^