Note to readers about the last chapter: The previous chapter may have left some things unexplained about Envy's story to Al about Hohenheim and Trisha having another son before Ed and Al and to clear that up…that is a rumor or something that I red about on a site and if you can find out the truth, don't be upset in thinking that I'm messing with you. –Kitsunefan203, author of Where is my Brother?
Disclaimer: I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist or its characters or any of the movie points or anything that is to happen in the series that may have spoiled a lot for many readers that have been reading this fan fiction.
The maze of alleyways was about to bring those seeking Al to a head as Rose, Russell, and Lust were coming up on the left and Armstrong along with the teacher were coming up on the right as they were reaching the location of where Al's screams had come from and where they would find him. Armstrong sensed an evil presence in the abandoned church on his right, but as he got close to the church door he saw Lust, Russell, and Rose coming up on his left.
"Major Armstrong! What are you doing here?" Rose asked as she and the others caught up as they all caught their breath from running towards the church.
"I heard Alphonse's cry for help," Armstrong said as he looked back to see the teacher catching up with Armstrong.
"You need to be careful, Envy is powerful," Lust said as the look of determination in the others eyes as they looked to the door.
Rick and Leo snuck around the back of the church into the shadows as they watched Russell, Lust, Rose, Armstrong, and their teacher talking amongst themselves as they discussed a plan of action of how to go into the church to stop Envy, retrieve Fletcher and save Al. The company talked amongst the group, but the teacher soon took his eyes from the group as they discussed what to do as he noticed Rick and Leo sneaking into the church through the shadows and as he did he feared that they were walking into a trap.
"Be careful my students," the teacher whispered as he watched his students running head long into trouble.
Inside the church, Envy was enjoying what would be Al's last moments alive as he raised his dagger above Al's heart as he prepared to end Al's life in the split moment as he stood above Al. Fletcher had been moving through the shadows towards Envy with the piece of glass that he still held in his hand as he started to sneak up behind Envy.
"Say goodbye Alphonse Elric," Envy said as he raised the dagger and started to bring it down towards Al's heart.
Fletcher saw the dagger as he prepared to charge Envy from behind, but the reflection of the moonlight through Envy's dagger that was hanging dangerously low above Al's heart, as it shined in his eyes as Rick and Leo charged in screaming at Envy to let go.
"Well, well, if isn't the two pests from before and they've come back hoping to save their friend from the enemy," Envy said as he left Al and headed towards the two brothers.
"Let Al go!" Rick shouted as he pointed a piece of glass at Envy.
"What a brave boy you truly are, brave…but stupid!" Envy said as he ran charging at the two brothers as a lion chimera.
He chased the two boys around the church as he stirred up dust to hide himself and the boys from Al as he tried to watch the fight happening, but no matter where the boys ran, Envy was there as well. Armstrong and the others tried to bust the door down as they heard the sounds of people screaming and a lion like cry ringing throughout the church, but they were unable to as they struggled to open the door.
"We have to get in there or else someone else is going to die along with Alphonse!" Armstrong said as they tried to bust the door down.
Al was having trouble breathing through the dust as he tried to look for the brothers, but every few seconds he could see the battle happening as Envy took on a different form every five minutes as he tried to destroy the boys with the power of different alchemists.
"RICK….LEO!" Al managed to scream through the pain in his body as he caught a glimpse of the boys struggling to stop Envy.
Rick heard Al's cries, but he soon found himself sprawling across the room as he got separated from Leo and as he got up he saw his brother raising a fist with a piece of stained glass in the other hand, but as Leo charged at Envy he saw a face of his past that made him stop in his tracks.
"Leo…my son…its mommy," Envy said in a motherly voice.
"You can't be my mother….my mother died years ago," Leo said as he circled around the altar with Envy.
"You must believe me my dear Leo…it is mommy….don't you recognize me," Envy said tauntingly as he continued to plead with Leo and soon made his move toward Leo as Leo made his move toward Envy.
Rick watched through the dust that kicked up as Envy transformed once more and this time he changed into Rick and took the hidden dagger out of his waist and stuck into Leo's heart and watched Leo die with an evil grin upon his face as he pulled Leo close to whisper some final words into his ear.
"Say 'hi' to mom when you see her again," Envy said as he pulled the dagger from Leo's heart as he left the young man gasping for air and Rick screaming out for his brother as he ran to his brother's side.
"LEO…LEO! Don't leave me!" Rick yelled as he held his brother's head in his hands as he watched his brother facing his last moments on Earth.
"Rick….I want you to do something for me," Leo said weakly as he grabbed his brother's hand.
"What is it brother?"
"Stay strong Rick, mom would have wanted it that way," Leo said as he closed his eyes and breathed his last breath.
Russell, Lust, Rose, Armstrong, and the teacher finally made it into the church, but only to find Rick crying over Leo's dead body and Al still pinned to the wall as Envy stood on the balcony of the church as he overlooked the damage he had caused in the recent moment and soon realized that Russell had come to get Fletcher, but Envy noticed that Fletcher was still free and was holding a piece of glass in his hand as he jumped down and knocked out Fletcher as Envy headed towards the back of the church.
Russell picked up a piece of stained glass and called out to Envy as Envy made his way to the back of the church as he headed towards the door and as he stared Envy down he called out to him.
"I didn't know that Homunculi members were such cowards," Russell shouted out tauntingly towards Envy.
Envy thought about the taunting comment as he placed Fletcher down as Russell started to walk toward him as he changed inNash Tringham, Russell and Fletcher's father that had seemed to have deserted the boys so long ago as Russell tried to stab the piece of glass through Envy's heart, but it didn't work.
"I never knew that my own son would try and kill me," Envy said as Russell's father.
"I will make you pay for my pain!" Russell said as he stabbed Envy in the heart.
As Russell stabbed Envy in the heart as a surge of accomplishment surged through Russell, but his surge of accomplishment disappeared as he saw Envy shed his disguise and remove the shard of stained glass from his chest and started to walk toward Russell with a dagger in his hand.
"You forget one thing about creations of alchemy," Envy said as he tried to corner Russell as he walked him backwards down the aisle with the dagger in his hands.
Envy tried to lunge at Russell, but Russell found himself running faster backwards and then he tripped on a rock on the floor as he fell backwards, Envy pinned him to the floor with the dagger point gleaming in the moonlight.
"This has been fun, but the fun has to end!" Envy said as he cut Russell from shoulder to shoulder making Russell scream out in pain.
"What do you want with my brother?" Russell asked as he grasped his right shoulder.
"He was just bait for young Alphonse there and now since you have decided to interfere…you will suffer as well," Envy said as he rose his right foot and like a pack of hammers crushed Russell's right ankle with a powerful crunch that could be heard throughout the church.
"Don't try to follow me or else this boy won't see the light of dawn ever again!" Envy shouted as he ran out the door and into the night.
There was silence in the church after the heavy wooden doors had been shut as Envy made his escape into the night, Lust moved toward Russell as he lay on the floor in pain as he tried to stand up as he grabbed a hold of a nearby pew, but his strength was failing him as he tried with all his might not to scream out in pain over the pain in his ankle and his shoulders. Rose was shocked at the mere horror left by Envy's devastation as she noticed the destruction of the church and then she saw that Al was still pinned to a nearby post and the sight of Leo lying in a pool of blood on the floor with Rick cradling his brother's head as his teacher tried to comfort him in his time of grief.
Armstrong looked to Rose as he asked for her help as he worked on untying Al's hands from the wooden support beam and Rose couldn't take her eyes from Al's face as she studied his battered and bruised features. Alphonse Elric didn't look like the same young boy that had been when he showed up in Ishbal earlier that day, but he had been through hell with Envy and been tortured past the extent of noticeable. Rick was mourning his brother's death as his teacher came over and draped the lifeless body with a sheet from the wall.
"Rick, my student, in such times of grief there are moments that will be painful, but we must all move on and let Ishbala take the life of your brother," the teacher said.
The trip back to the inn was a silent one as Russell limped in pain and Al lay unconscious on Armstrong's back. A millions thoughts ran through the rescuer's minds as they walked the silent streets of what things did Envy tell Al and what lies were now swimming through Al's mind? No could know the truth behind the lies, but what if what Envy had said about his mother and father having a child previous to he and Edward were true? Was he just hunting down his own brother? No, it couldn't be true of what Envy had said, but his mind was plagued by the evil thoughts and lies that had penetrated his mind during his time of torture that he had suffered by Envy's hands.
Once the companions had made their way back to the inn, Mustang was shocked to see Al in such bad shape as not to the say same for Russell that was trying to grin and bear it through the pain as Lust and Rose helped him up the stairs up to the room as Al and Russell were soon laid down on separate beds. Major Armstrong went out to find a doctor for the boys and was gone for what seemed hours as Rose watched over Al and Lust watched over Russell, but as Lust watched Russell struggle with his pain and dealing with his brother once again and as she watched him struggle she started to sing a song to him to settle his mind.
Try not to get worried
Try not to turn onto
Problems that upset you, oh
Don't you know everything's alright
Everything's fine
Rose could see that Lust's method had worked as she kissed him on the forehead and his mid was put at easy and he settled into a deep sleep to sleep away the pain and as she looked back toward Al, she could see that Al wasn't having as much luck falling to sleep as Al tossed and turned in his sleep as he fought with visions of the past and the visions of Envy torturing him as he hung at Envy's mercy and it was killing Rose to watch Al suffering mentally from the pains of the events of the day.
"You have to pull through this Al; all that's happened is just a test of your endurance, but you can't let Envy beat you. Fight it Al, fight it," Rose whispered into Al's ear as he seemed to settle down into his bed and fall into a peaceful slumber.
As Rose watched over him as small tune that she had learned when she was young came to her as she watched him sleeping as she started to silent hum the tune, but Mustang soon followed in with her.
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow
Lean on me
When you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
If there is a load you have to bear
That you can't carry
I'm right up the road
I'll share the load
If you just call me
So just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you'd understand
We all need somebody to lean on.
Swallow your pride….and I'll help you carry on….
Rose looked to where Al lay and noticed that he was sleeping soundly and Mustang looked towards Rose and smiled at her as he hummed the last part of the tune and brushed a hair from Hawkeye's face.
"When they are ready to move on, we will go where ever Envy plans to strike next," Mustang said to Rose and Lust as they watched over their injured comrades.
Mustang watched Russell and Al sleep and as he did he realized that the pains they had suffered were like their own wars and it was enough to show him that there is war with memories that can hurt you and others, but the one war that is painful is fighting the war between truth and lies.
Rose and Lust were in agreement as they sat by the injured boys and watched them and Mustang watched over Lt. Hawkeye as she lay peacefully at his side as she tried to sleep through her pain as well and once more the room became as silent as a church and as the night drifted on a song came to mind as the room presented an air of sorrow.
Why are you at my side?
How can I be any use to you now?
Give me a chance and I'll let you see how
Nothing has changed
Deep in my heart I'm concealing
Things that I'm longing to say
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you'll slip away
You must love me
You must love me
Love is a powerful thing and it has shined through the darkest of moments in these chapters; I hope you guys are enjoying the story along with the small hints of songs and to point it out to all the readers…this is not…I repeat…this is NOT a songfic I've just tied in song lyrics to set the mood as if you were watching an episode of the show…just thought I add dramatics. Read and Review please!