Until the End

By Gozilla


A/N: Thanks a lot to those of you who read and reviewed the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and I don't have anything. So don't sue me!

Please excuse my poor English. -

Reviews are most welcomed!

Enjoy!


Chapter 2: The Military


-On the train-

Edward ignored the curious glares thrown at him by other passages as he limped along the aisle of the train. He was glad to find that his compartment was empty. Quickly, he closed the door behind him and slid the curtains so that people could not see him from the outside. Once secured, he collapsed onto the seat in exhaustion.

After catching his breath, he took off his coat and inspected the wound on his shoulder. Lust's nail punctured right through his left shoulder and created a bleeding hole. It was painful but he knew it would heal soon as it was just a flesh wound. The bleeding had slowed and the blood stain on the coat was not obvious as the coat was red itself.

Edward took some bandages and dressed the wound. He then put on his coat to cover the bandages before falling on the seat. He fell asleep almost immediately as he was completely exhausted. More importantly, he knew he need to regain his strength again as the road ahead would not be easy.


-Three days later-

The train finally arrived at the Central station. Edward got off the train and immediately ran to check on the train schedule to Paromo. He was frustrated to find that the next train to Paromo would depart three days later.

"Why the hell do you have to go to such stupid remote town?" Edward murmured angrily. He knew that his brother went to help the people in the remote areas which the government chose to ignore due to the little influence the people there had. He knew Al was doing what a "people's alchemist" should do. But under urgent situation like this, Edward couldn't help but to let out his anger in these harmless cursing.

Edward now faced another problem: where should he stay in the coming three days?

Edward did not want to go back to the military as people might question about his new automail limbs and, most importantly, his brother, Al. Edward could not risk letting anyone know that he had successfully transmuted Al's body. Otherwise, the military might do something horrible to his brother in order to investigate the secret of human transmutation. Edward simply did not trust anyone in the military.

On the other hand, he could not just wonder around the city as his name, the Fullmetal Alchemist, was famous in the city and people would probably recognise him. In addition, the sins would have known that the destination of the train he took and followed him to the Central. He could not risk being caught, and probably killed, by the sins while waiting for the train.

After considering all the options available, Edward decided to stay somewhere near the outskirt of the city for the next three days before taking the train to Paromo. He went to the ticket box and bought a ticket for the train to Paromo three days later and another ticket for the train to a nearby town which would depart in 10 minutes.

Edward quickly boarded the train to the nearby town and hid himself in a quiet corner. He let out a sigh of relief when the train started moving.

Unbeknown to Edward, someone in a dark corner of the train station had been watching his every move. The person went to the ticket box and asked for the destination of the tickets Edward bought. The person then disappeared in the crowd as the train slowly departed.


-Next morning, in a nearby town-

Edward slowly opened his eyes at the bright sunlight shining through the thin curtain over the window of the room. He arrived in the town last in the evening yesterday and checked in to a small inn for a room for two nights. He was so exhausted that he skipped dinner and went straight to bed.

But his sleep was haunted with nightmares of his brother being turned to a philosopher's stone by the sins or his brother being tied to a surgery bed in the 5th lab with a few people dressed in military suits observing over him. He woke up in shock several times over the night.

Edward felt incredibly tired after being woke by another nightmare and found that it was early morning. He got slightly frustrated for being so weak and unable to recover as quickly as before. He kicked off the thin blanket and sat on the edge of the bed. He took a few deep breaths before getting up.

Edward's stomach groaned loudly in protest of the lack of food in the past few days. He smiled bitterly and prepared himself before going for breakfast downstairs.

As he was changing clothes from the short-sleeve shirt and shorts he wore, someone knocked on the door.

"Who's there?" Edward asked, expecting the voice of the shopkeeper.

No response.

Edward frowned as he sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet. There was not a single sound from the outside of the room. Quickly, he grabbed the thin blanket and loosely wrapped it around his body, hiding his automail arms and legs.

"Who's there!" Edward shouted as he scanned the room for a route to escape. 'The door is definitely not an option as whoever is out there would stop me from escaping. So the only way out is the window... but I am on the third floor of the inn...'

Suddenly, with a loud bang, the door fell to the floor in dozen of pieces. A strong arm appeared among the dust and debris created by the hit.

"Armstrong... Mustang..." Edward murmured in surprise as he finally saw the figures standing in front of him. Other than the two, Hawkeye and several officers under Mustang's command stood by the door, blocking any possible way out from the door.

"Fullmetal!" Mustang shouted as he stepped forward, "How long do you plan to avoid us? I expected you to report to me right after the last incidence with the sins but you just disappeared! I want your explanation right now!"

"I have nothing to report to you!" Edward shouted back as he swung his left arm angrily, accidentally revealing the automail arm, "I don't want to be a state alchemist anymore! Let us alone!"

Mustang and the other looked in shock as they suddenly realised that Edward's remaining left arm and right foot were replaced by the shiny automail limbs.

"Edward Elric!" Mustang was the first to recover from the shock, "I demand you to explain what happened to your arm and leg! And where is Alphonse?"

"It is none of your damned business!" Edward shouted in panic. Letting the military or the sins to know about the human transmutation was the last thing he wanted. He swore to protect the secret and his brother from them at all costs. "Leave us alone or I will have no choice but to fight against you!" he said as he threw away the blanket and got into a fighting posture.

"Is it a threat?" Mustang smirked as he raised his gloved right hand, "Do you really think you stand a chance of winning over me?"

Nervous sweat trailed down Edward's face. He knew that he had little, if not none, chance to defeat the famous Flame Alchemist, let alone that Armstrong was there to back up Mustang. But he had no choice.

"I don't want to hurt any of you..." Edward said softly before clapping his hands and putting them on the floor. With flashes of strong blue light, a think wall emerged in the middle of the room, separating Edward and the others. Knowing that the wall would not be able to block the pursuers for long, Edward immediately jumped on the window sill and got ready to jump.

In a split second, a powerful explosion blasted through the thick wall. The strong current created by the explosion pushed Edward out of the window. Losing balance, Edward fell, un-prepared, to the ground from the three-storey room. He was able to land on his hands and feet and rolled a few feet in order to reduce the impact. However, sharp pain from his chest told him that the fall had cracked at least one or two of his ribs.

Enduring the pain, Edward started running from the inn. However, he was quickly losing the battle as stars starting dancing in front of his eyes. He found it very difficult to breathe as if a rock was pressing on his cheat. The combination of exhaustion, hunger, and pain took their toll on the battered body significantly weakened by costs of human transmutation and recent automail installation.

Edward heard shouts and yells from behind but he could not make sense out of the words. He did not even notice that his pace was slowing down and someone caught up with him and was right behind his heels. His legs finally failed to support him and he started to fall to the ground. He never hit the ground as someone caught him gently.

"Please... leave us alone..." was the last thing Edward spoke before darkness overcame his mind.


End of Chapter 2

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