Note to readers: I'm sorry you guys, but I put the same block of lyrics from "You Must Love Me" in two chapters and to make it up to you guys I'm going to put the other part from the song into this chapter just to make it up to you guys. Sorry
The inn room was silent as a church during a Sunday service and the friends had fallen asleep as they had watched over Al and Russell as the dawn seemed to peek up over the mountains of the desert city as it tried to wash over the tragedy of the previous day, but those that had suffered from the tragedy couldn't forget what had happened. Al's face was battered and bruised and his shoulders ached as if someone had dropped ten pound boulders on each shoulder and that an elephant had sat on his stomach and chest. Russell was getting better, but his shirt was covered in blood from the cuts on his shoulders and his ankle was swollen and bruised from the bone crunching he had received from Envy breaking his ankle. Mustang had been dozing in and out of sleep most of the night as he heard the sounds of Lt. Hawkeye moving in her sleep as she seemed to be getting better.
"Colonel Mustang?" Armstrong asked through the bedroom door.
"Who is it?" Mustang asked back.
"It's only me Major Armstrong and I've brought a doctor to look after the boys," Armstrong said as he entered the room with a local doctor behind him, but the moment the doctor walked in, the doctor could tell that he was having déjà vu.
"Well, well, it seems that for a Military man you don't seem to listen to doctors orders at all do you Colonel Mustang?" the doctor asked sarcastically.
"The boy over there in the corner was he was out alone and I had no idea what he was doing SO DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" Mustang said as he grabbed the doctor by his collar.
"Easy Colonel Mustang, I didn't mean anything by it…so what happened to these boys?" the doctor asked as Mustang let go of him.
Mustang briefly explained their situation and what happened the day before and then Rose, Lust and Armstrong told him what they knew about finding Al at the church and the fight that had ensued with their enemy and what happened to Russell as well. The doctor was shocked as he heard the friends tale as he worked on the boys and checked on Hawkeye to make sure that she was healing as well as he hoped she was.
"You people are lucky not to be dead from what you've been through," the doctor said as he laid Hawkeye back down after his check-up.
"We don't need your sympathy," Russell said as he sat up on his bed.
"You boys are lucky to be alive and it may not be my business, but I suggest you folks head back home before you hurt yourselves further," the doctor said as he gathered his things.
"No," Al said defiantly as he sat up with Rose's help.
"Alphonse, I think it is the best thing for all of us to leave and go back to East Headquarters and rethink how we are going to stop Envy," Mustang said as he tried to reason with the boy.
"Al is right and I WILL NOT LEAVE MY BROTHER IN THAT MADMAN'S GRIP AS LONG AS I HAVE BREATH AND STRENGTH TO MOVE ON AND CONTINUE THIS FIGHT!" Russell said as he attempted to get up out of bed.
"I will not let the lives of those that we have lost or will lose be in vain, especially the life of my own brother," Al said with tears in his eyes and Mustang could see the pain in the boy's face.
"I'm with you Alphonse," Rose said as she helped Al up onto his feet.
"You are all foolish, but brave enough to do it," Armstrong said as he saw the determination in Al, Rose, Russell, and Lust's faces as he saw them looking towards Mustang.
"Alphonse," Lt. Hawkeye called out.
"Lt. Hawkeye, you are awake," Mustang said as he went to Hawkeye's side.
"If Alphonse and the others are pressing on….so will I, I care too much about Alphonse to see him hurt," Hawkeye said as she attempted to stand on her own.
The doctor took his things and left the room and as he walked down the stairs towards the pub where he found the landlady and her husband waiting expectantly for an answer about the condition of their visitors; the doctor turned towards them and gave them the nod of approval.
"Are they going to be okay?" asked Elizabeth, the landlady.
"They are going to be fine, but I have to say….they have the will to carry on till the bitter end to reach whatever goal they are after," the doctor said as he walked back home and as he did he found himself walking near the cemetery where standing near an a gravesite were villagers praying for the souls of Dr. Tim Marcoh and Shesca.
"May they rest in peace," the doctor whispered as he made the sign of the cross on his chest.
The dawn was breaking upon the city as Al and the others got their things and got dressed for the day, but as they got their things together Russell and Lust remembered that they had buried Shesca and Marcoh previously and they told the others what they had done and it was agreed that they would go down to the cemetery to pay their respects to their deceased comrades.
"We decided that they should be buried here so that they can rest in peace and so that they we are not constantly carrying them with us back to East Headquarters," Russell said as he walked along the dirt road with his crutches.
"That seems appropriate for them and we thank you for your help Russell and Lust," Mustang said as he helped Lt. Hawkeye along.
As the friends got close to the cemetery they could hear the villagers singing near the grave of the fallen comrades and as Al walked ahead of the others he could hear the sound of singing.
When you are weary
Feeling small
When tears are it
You're eyes I will dry them all
I'm on your side
Oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a Bridge over Troubled Waters
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled waters
I will lay me down
When you are down and out
When you are on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your heart
Oh when darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled waters
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled waters
I will lay me down
Sail silver girl
Sail along by
You're time has come to shine
They're dreams on their way
See how they shine
Oh if you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled waters
A will ease your mind
Like a bridge over trouble water
I will ease your mind
The ceremony for the fallen comrades was simple as the friends shared their feelings for Marcoh and Shesca as they remembered moments in their lives when they had known the fallen, but each memory was painful as some where moments of remembering the terrible war that had raged in this desert city, but there had been happy moments as when Al mentioned his first time meeting her at her home with a mountain of books in her home and the help she had been for he and his brother in their search for the notes on Marcoh's creation of the Philosopher's Stone. The day seemed to drag on and the moment of delivering a eulogy for the fallen was asked from Mustang, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything, but Al managed to bring himself together.
"My brother and I were taught a great lesson about human transmutation from our Sensei, Izumi Curtis many years ago, a young girl in the town had brought her cat that she thought was only sleeping, but sadly the cat had died and the only words she could offer for human life were these words that still stay with me today: 'Life will come to an end, a return to the dust from which we came. The spirit becomes memories, living in the minds of people. Everything changes. The same as with human life.' I never knew what it meant until our mother's death became our reason for the search for the stone, but now I feel that it means even though they may be dead, they are still with us in memory," Al said as he tried to hide his tears, but he soon looked to where Rick and his teacher stood mourning Leo's death.
"I want to close this funeral by singing a song that I hold dear to my heart that I'm sure will help Rick face his brother's death will a more brighter outlook," Lt. Hawkeye said as she started to sing as Al started to walk toward Rick and his teacher to help them mourn.
Sing me a song of praise and glory
Help this wondering child
To understand
That when I close my eyes and sleep eternal
I'll be clinging to a saving hand
I want you to sing to me about the Rock of Ages
And sing about eternity so sweet
So that when I take my last breathe of life
I'll awaken my savior's feet
I want you tell me about Paul and Matthew
And sing about my dear Savior's birth
And tell about his trials and tribulations
Or how about he walked upon this heathen earth
Come on and sing me a song of praise and glory
Help this wondering child to understand
That when I close my eyes and sleep eternal
I'll be clinging to a saving hand
I'll be clinging to a saving hand
Rick was still mourning his brother's death and was hard because Leo had been the oldest and he was his brother's protector, but losing him was hard on the boy and the last words of his brother were hard to live by but he knew that he was going to have to learn to live by them.
"Master, is there anyway I can bring my brother back?" Rick asked through his tears.
"If there is a way to bring him back I fear that it would be against the rules of nature and against our God, Ishbala and I'm sure that your alchemists friends would say that trying to bring him back through alchemy would not be the right way to bring him back," the teacher said as he noticed Al walking up.
"I will bring you back….no matter the cost," Rick said as he pounded the ground.
"Rick, I'm sorry about your brother, but I heard you wanting to find a way to bring him back?" Al asked as he helped the young boy off the ground.
"Yes, I miss him even more since I have no living relatives," Rick said as he wiped away tears from his eyes.
"My brother thought the same way after our mother died and we had returned home for a visit to friends of ours, but we realized that we weren't alone…our childhood friend and her grandmother were more like family then friends and I think the same goes for your teacher," Al said as he placed a hand on his the man's shoulder.
"I know what you mean, but I want him back."
"Whatever you try to do to bring him back will not bring him back as he was and I know the consequences for Human Alchemy. Do not bring him back because the guilt of failure is not worth living with and I know how it feels….for about three to four years I had to endure the guilt and shame of having to be a soul transmuted to a suit of armor and having people question why I was wearing it. Believe me it's not worth losing your life or even parts of yourself to bring him back," Al said as he placed his hand on Rick's shoulder as he tried to hide his tears.
The teacher could understand where he was coming from and he knew the consequences for he had seen it in the eyes of Scar's older brother as he tried to bring back the only woman he had ever loved and in his attempts to bring her back and trying to create the mysterious stone…Scar's own brother had lost his sanity and in the end lost his life at the hands of a State Military officers that possessed the power of the stone that the man had been searching for.
"May be Ishbala with you my young friend," the teacher said as Al headed back towards his friends.
"We are nearly done here, but I want to end this with one last song," Al said as he looked Rose as she started the song as the others slowly joined in with her and Al as they started to sing an old hymn.
Amazing Grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I was once lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
T'was grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears revealed
How Precious did that Grace appear….
The hour I first believed
Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far
And Grace will lead us home.
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will be my shield and portion be
As long as life endures
When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Then when we've first begun
Amazing Grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I was once lost, but now I'm found
Was blind, but now I see
The friends finished the ancient hymn as tears filled every eye present as they mourned the loss of their departed friends and if someone was to walk into the circle of mournful friends they would see that the Colonel and the Major were openly weeping for the loss of Dr. Marcoh. They had lost many good friends and companions in the war that had ravaged the war torn land, but no amount of tears was going to bring them back and as the men stood their openly weeping in a way that they had never cried before over the loss of the departed. As they stood there mourning their friends loss….a feeling of the fallen from the Ishbalan war seemed to be surrounding them with their touch as a way to comfort them and to remind them that "no matter old or how high up in the ranks you become…..it's okay to cry and show this weakness….you don't have to hide it from the world and from the ones that are willing to help….mourn them friends….mourn them…your love and compassion for them will always shine as bright as the sun and if you always keep them close….they will always be in your heart."
The walk back to the inn was silent at the cemetery itself, but a sense of calm and closure had come over Mustang and Armstrong, but especially Mustang because back at the funeral of Brigadier General Maes Hughes, he had held back all emotions at that funeral and now at the funeral for a man that been the one that had given all State Alchemists the weapon of mass destruction to destroy the city. Time heals all wounds had been his philosophy, but now that was out the window and his pain had been healed by mourning the loss of companions.
The plan about where to go next was still a mystery and the only one that knew where they would be going next on this wild goose chase was Al, but would he give the answer they were all seeking?
"Where do we going from here?" Rose asked as she tried to talk to Al, but he wasn't willing to talk.
"There is the option of going home and regrouping," Lt. Hawkeye said.
"That thought has been struck out of the ball park and there is no use suggesting because Al and Russell have made up their minds about not going back to Headquarters and moving on," Mustang said.
"Then what do us next Colonel?" Lust asked as she looked for an answer from Al.
"Al…what do you want to do?" Armstrong asked
Al was silent as he kept his head down and tried to avoid his friends because he felt that he was the reason that Marcoh, Shesca, Leo and Scar were dead and Russell was hurt along with Mustang and Lt. Hawkeye….he didn't want anyone else to get hurt, but the fear of Fletcher begin hurt and Edward being killed by this monster was too much.
"We await your orders Colonel Mustang," Armstrong said as he looked to Mustang for answer.
Silence
"Alright, we leave at noon, but to where?" Mustang asked as he looked to Al for their next destination.
"Xenotime," Al said as he looked out the inn window.
The room was silent as the friends gathered their things and headed towards the train station that would lead them to their next destination and as they made their way to the train station a song was in Rose and Hawkeye's hearts as they got onto the train platform and awaited the orders to get on with the others. A song seemed to play through the streets as they had walked through the desert streets as the people waved at them in thanks for what they had done to rid them of Envy, but they knew that the friends held sorrow in the hearts over the ones they lost. The friends boarded the train and watched as the city seemed to pass them by as they headed off to a city where memories of the past were bound to replay through the minds of the two young alchemists, Al and Russell.
Where do we go from here?
This isn't where we intend to be
We had all, you believed in me
I believed in you
Certainties disappear
What do we do for our dream to survive?
How do we keep all our passions alive?
As we used to do
Deep in my heart
I'm concealing
Things that I'm longing to reveal
Scared to confess what I'm feeling
Frightened you slip away
You must love me
You must love
The train pulled away from the station as Hawkeye lay her head on Mustang's lap and Rose kept an eye Al as he sat by himself as he watched the countryside rolling away from them as it rolled towards the mountainous city of Xenotime. Armstrong sat with Lust and Russell and as he looked around the train car he could see the faces of the loss and it hurt him to even remember Marcoh and Shesca, but there was still time to mourn them as the train rolled on.
Hidden in the boxcar were Envy and Fletcher as they hitched a ride towards Xenotime with the friends as they sat awaiting the fate they were riding towards in Xenotime and the hope of retrieving Fletcher seemed to be fleeting in the hearts of the travelers, but they knew that they must not give up hope.
Sadness may be a weakness but it is also a great way of healing the heart….Al and the others are finding themselves headed towards their final destination and you the readers are finding yourselves coming to the end of this fan fiction and I hope that you have all enjoyed the story as much as I have enjoyed writing and reading it as I go along writing it for you guys. Until next chapter….Read and Review.