A/N: I'm back, I'm back! Didn't want to leave you hanging for to long ;) But before we begin today I have a HUGE announcement.
My original book HOUR OF MISCHIEF a YA Steampunk Fantasy, comes out September 7th BUT the ebook just went on preorder yesterday. This means the cover is also up! So if you're interested wander over to this link: (Just take out the spaces) Hour-Mischief-Aimee-Hyndman-ebook/dp/B0120PZC5K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1437402915&sr=8-1&keywords=hour+of+mischief
Thanks for reading as always. Now, without further ado, let's get to the chapter!
Chapter 55: The Truth
It took Ed a moment to register what had just happened. Someone had knocked into him and he had been thrown off of Envy, skidding several feet away across the slick floor. Wincing, he pushed himself to his knees, trying to regain his focus. A smell suddenly reached his nose. Blood. Someone had been hurt. Some droplets of blood stuck to his arm but it clearly didn't come from him.
And if it wasn't from him.
No.
He slowly turned back around.
Please be wrong. Please be wrong.
He wasn't. And the truth made him want to throw up.
Envy must've been preparing to stab him, using his shock as a distraction. But she had pushed Ed out of the way of the blade. She had saved his life. And now she was lying in a growing puddle of blood on the ground. Her own blood.
His eyes widened and his heart clenched nearly to the point of implosion.
"Liz!"
He scrambled to her side, not even checking to see if Envy or Dante were getting ready to attack again. He didn't even see them. All he could see was the blood, and the girl surrounded by it. The wound was just below her rib cage, missing her heart but probably puncturing part of her lung. Miraculously she was still alive, but her breath was shallow and there was no denying her pain.
"Liz." Ed pressed his hand over the wound, trying to stem the bleeding. "Liz, dammit, say something."
"Pipsqueak" Liz coughed out with a pained but still mischievous grin. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth down her chin. God, it was everywhere.
"You idiot." Ed whispered, moisture gathering at the edges of his eyes. "Why did you do that?"
"I..." she winced. "I'm sick of people dying... before my eyes. My parents, my brother, Hughes, Scar... I couldn't let you die too." She gritted her teeth. "You're kind of… my best friend. I couldn't…" Her body clenched and she let out a soft cry of pain.
"Don't talk," Ed urged. "Don't talk. Just breathe. Please just breathe." Tears blurred his vision. "You have to live, Liz, do you hear me? You have to live."
"Aw, pipsqueak." She coughed again. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were worried about me."
Rage bubbled through Ed in time with his panic. Envy had done this to her. Envy had done this. Ed could murder him. Really murder him. He whirled around, raising his metal arm for an attack. "Envy you son of a—"
He stopped, his arm lowering slightly. Edward had expected a mocking expression. A sadistic smirk. One he could easily destroy. But he didn't see those. The look on Envy's face was alien. It was one of horror and anguish.
"Hey." Liz tugged weakly on Ed's sleeve. "Edward don't. This was my fault. My choice." She drew in a shaky breath. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Ed asked hoarsely but she wasn't looking at him. She was staring directly at the homunculus over his shoulder.
"Liz..." Envy shook visibly.
"A life for a life… you know?" Liz's voice was a whisper. "It was my choice…" She let out a sigh and her eyes slipped closed. She didn't draw breath again.
"Liz wait," Ed said. "Liz hang on. Just… you just have to…" He shook her shoulder. "Liz look at me will you. Idiot, will you just look at me!" But she didn't listen. She didn't look at him. She was gone.
Ed let the tears fall now and he tore at his hair. "GOD DAMNIT! LIZ!"
"That worked out better than I expected." Dante was smirking. "A delightful lesson re taught. Wouldn't you agree Envy?"
Ed whirled to look at the homunculus. His long dark hair hid his expression but his fists were clenched to the point of breaking.
"After all this is what happens when a homunculus gets attached to a human." Dante continued. "Luckily I didn't half to interfere again. This one undid herself."
Envy froze. There was a long tense pause before the homunculus spoke, his voice cool, calm and absolutely deadly. "When you say 'again'... Are you by any chance referring to that incident with Greed?"
"Of course" Dante was undaunted. "All of the homunculi were getting too attached to her but particularly you. I only had to tell her to stop the fight between you and Greed, really."
"That fight was a set up?" Envy's voice was almost a whisper.
"Yes." Dante tossed her hair. "It really is a shame. Liz was promising as a body. But now I wonder what she will get now for her sacrifice."
Ed glared at Dante, pushing himself to his feet and stalking forward, ready to start swinging. But Envy caught his wrist and kept him from going any further.
Ed tensed, ready for a fight. To his surprise Envy walked slowly past him in silence, releasing his wrist again. His face unreadable until he stopped just beside the transmutation circle that held Al in place. Poor Al had been lying in the transmutation circle the entire time, unable to move or do anything. He looked up at the homunculus, looking as confused as Ed.
"Envy?"
Envy didn't look at him. He focused on Dante. "Out of curiosity, Dante, what is this transmutation circle doing?"
"It keeps the boy from getting up so that—" Dante's eyes widened. "ENVY STOP!"
Too late. Envy brought his fist down against the floor, smashing transmutation circle in one blow. The light faded suddenly and the hold on Al was broken. "Get up tin can," Envy growled, the fury now evident on his face. "Ask questions later!"
Ed stared at the homunculus in shock "W-what are you—"
Envy's gaze sliced to meet his. "Ask. Questions. Later."
Ed flinched back then nodded.
"You fool!" Dante clapped her hands and sent a slew of stone spikes their way. Al jumped in front of Ed and blocked them from causing any damage. With a frustrated growl Dante sent a spear Envy's way but he moved to the side with lightning speed and caught the spear by the shaft before it flew completely past him.
"I'm the fool?" he snarled. "You're the only one who's foolish if you thought you could teach me anything. If you thought you had the right. You do not control me." He clenched the spear in front of him. "I'll send you to hell where you belong, mother."
The venom of that one word surprised Ed. He had no clue what was going on here. All he knew was that Liz had taken more than a few secrets to her grave. She had tried to stop the fight between them. And when she did she had looked straight at Envy, like he would listen to her.
"This will not end well for either of you."
What had happened that she never told him?
"Brother," Al murmured. "What should we do?"
"I..." Ed didn't have an answer.
"You think this wise, Envy?" Dante echoed the venom in Envy's voice.
"I have nothing to lose," he said darkly.
"Maybe not." Dante sighed "But at least, in a sense there was equivalency in Liz's death. It was a life for a life. She did save her friend in exchange." She clapped her hands together and another spear came into her hand. "But I can fix that."
Envy's eyes widened and he whirled toward Ed. "MOVE PIPSQUEAK!"
The spear flew through the air and Ed suddenly felt a searing pain shoot through his chest. His legs gave and he fell backwards. Two armored arms caught him before he hit the ground.
"BROTHER NO!" Al's scream was distant to his ears. Ed wanted to answer but he couldn't make his mouth move. He could barely see. And the pain… the pain…
That was Edward's last thought before his world faded to black.
"Ed" Al whispered staring at the still form of his brother. "Edward... Brother! Y-you can't die! It's supposed to be me!"
"You..." Envy glared at Dante, malice burning in his eyes. With Edward dead, Liz had died for no reason. For nothing at all. Just like Kristen.
Envy might have lunged at her if Gluttony hadn't suddenly lost control of his urge to feed and charged at him. Whirling, the homunculus dodged to the side and knocked the mindless monster back into the wall with a swift kick.
"Equivalence really has lost its meaning." Dante had escaped to the elevator and pushed the button to close the door. "Farewell."
Envy lunged too late, slamming into closed doors. "Dammit!" the homunculus snarled smashing a fist into the wall.
If Al could cry in his present condition he would have sobbed as he looked between his brother and one of his best friends, both dead. Already he was shaking. Trying to find a way to fix things. There had to be a way to fix things. "There's still some color in his face..." He muttered. "I just have to pull him back like he did for me."
"If you do..." Al jumped as Envy knelt down next to him staring at Liz. "Can you do the same for her? Is it too late?"
"I..." Al stared at the homunculus for once feeling sorry for him. "I don't know how much I'm capable of but I'll certainly try to pull them both back."
"You know what will happen to you?" Envy looked at him.
"Yes, I do. But I've watched enough people die. It's time I gave my share and made my own choice."
"Then do it now." the homunculus said hoarsely.
Al nodded and stood, whispering to himself. "Brother, Liz, this is for both of you." He clapped his hands together and the red light of the philosopher's stone swallowed everything whole.
Ed knew where he was. He was standing at the gate. He'd been here before of course. But he was considerably less panicked this time around. He didn't jerk at the gates, or run, or scream. He simply stood, watching. For a moment an image of Al flashed in front of him before disappearing. Then Envy appeared in his place.
"Where am I?" Envy muttered.
"The gate," Ed replied.
"So the tin can's alchemy did work." Envy glared at Edward. "If you're here... then what about—"
"I'm sorry" Ed whispered. And he was, though not for Envy's sake. "Liz wasn't here, when I came..."
Envy almost seemed to have expected this. He clenched his fists and whirled to look at the gate. "So what's on the other side of it?"
"For me it was a place called London." Ed murmured. "At least that's what my old man told me."
"Old man? You mean Hoenhiem of light?" A hateful gleam popped into Envy's eye again. Ed has faced such a similar look when they had fought. How long ago that seemed. How pointless. "So he's still alive, huh?" Envy whirled and stalked toward the gate, forcing it open.
"Envy, don't." Ed warned. "You don't know where it will take you."
"I have nothing to lose" Envy growled. "I'll kill him. If I can't do anything else, I'll kill him." The black arms snaked from the opening and he faced them unflinching. "Take me to Hoenhiem of Light!" Ed didn't know if they obeyed him, but they pulled the homunculus through the doors. They slammed shut behind him.
What had Envy meant by Al's alchemy, Ed wondered. And why had he seen his brother standing before him? It couldn't be that Al had died too… could it? Ed felt a tear slip down his cheek.
"Al?" he murmured into the void. Then the gate faded away.
Edward woke up on the ballroom floor. He raised his right hand to rub over his eyes. Warm flesh slipped against his face instead of steel. He gasped, jerking his hand back. His arm was flesh. He was whole. "I'm back. I'm alive."
Rose knelt down next to him, baby in hand. "Edward." She smiled.
"Rose?" Ed's eyes widened. "What happened to Al?"
"I... Edward." Rose stared at the ground. "He's not here. Everyone's gone."
"No. You're not telling me he's... AL!" Ed glanced over to find Liz's body. But she had disappeared. "What... where did Liz go?"
"Al performed some sort of transmutation. Then she disappeared." Rose shrugged helplessly. "I don't know where they went. I don't know where Dante went either." She looked up at him. "What are you going to do Ed?"
Ed stared at the ground for a long time. What was he going to do? He had to do something. Find a way to pull Al back from the gate. He'd done it before, hadn't he? He just had to find the right price. The right trade.
Ed looked at Rose at last. "Look... if it's not too much to ask could you take him back up to the surface" Ed gestured toward Wrath. "Liz... would want him taken care of."
"And you?" she asked tentatively.
He smiled "I'll be fine."
When Rose had gone Ed set about drawing one last transmutation circle on the ground and on himself. He was calm as he worked, despite everything. And he kept his brother and his friend on his mind.
Liz had died to save him, Al had died to bring him back. He couldn't abandon them now. Liz might've been brought back as well by Al's alchemy so Ed had to focus on his brother. On returning the favor. It may have been reckless to try but, like Envy, he had nothing left to loose.
He didn't know what had happened to Envy, nor did he understand why he had tried to kill Dante or why he had reacted in such a way to killing Liz. But he supposed there were some truths he might never know. Even equivalency, which once seemed so certain, had fallen into a grey area.
Right now, truth didn't matter. With a sense of finality, clapped his hands together.
"Liz... Al..." He murmured as blue light enveloped him. "I love you both. I'll miss you."
A/N: Thanks for reading! One more chapter before the rewrite is completed *sigh of relief* we made it didn't we?
Don't forget, if you're interested in HOUR OF MISCHIEF preorder today or at least mark the release date on your calendar. Thanks as always for your support!
