The Winged Alchemist

Chapter 9: Close Call

Winry and Riza stared at each other when they saw Edward….flying. After a few minutes, the two recovered from disbelief and then thought of what to do. Winry then went for the door. Riza grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" Winry looked at her in disbelief. "Miss. Hawkeye, we have to go up there and help Ed. What if the Colonel is up there?" Getting her arm back, the two started back for the hospital. On their way there, Winry had many thoughts buzzing thru her mind.

How could Ed be flying thru the air….and how could he have wings? I feel so confused right now. We have to go faster than this; Ed could be in major trouble. What if Hughes is up there? Reaching the door to the outside of the roof, Riza kicked it open. She held out her gun and then dropped it, mortified at what she saw. Winry looked at what she was seeing and thought she was gonna scream. There in front of her was Hughes and Ed, only they weren't human.

Edward clawed at Hughes and then knocked him over with his wings. He jumped over top of him and was about to snap at his throat when Maes knocked to the ground with his beastly arms. He felt the wind knocked out of him for a moment and then jumped up to his clawed feet. He saw Hughes coming and did a flip over him, turned to face his back and then grabbed a hold of him. He then bit into his back, making the demon scream.

Hughes back kicked Ed and whirled around, knocking him back down. When he came in contact with the concrete, Hughes dug his claws into his torso, making him shriek. He struggled to get him off, but he was far too strong to throw off. Hughes dug in deeper and was about to bite down when a gunshot rang out. Hughes jumped off and clutched his knee. He turned back into his human form and wailed.

Edward felt himself turning back to his human form too. When the transformation was complete, he let out a shrill scream of pain. He felt dizzy and knew that this was bad news. "Edward!" He turned around to see Winry running towards him. He shook his head. "Stay away from me Winry!" She stopped and looked at him with a hurt expression. Riza than stepped forward, her gun still held out towards Hughes. "Winry, just listen to him!" She shook her head in disagreement. "Ed we have to get you out of here!"

Ed was about to answer back when more pain filled him. He looked down to see the wounds healing. He screamed again and wished that it would end soon. Then, the pain had stopped, and he looked to see himself fully healed. "That certainly comes in handy." "No, my dear boy, it won't for your sake!" Maes was now suddenly in front of Winry and Riza. Ed felt his blood start to boil. "Don't even think about touching them!" The man grabbed a hold of Riza and then threw her into the wall, knocking her out instantly. He then grabbed Winry and held her by the neck, unable to let her breathe.

As Winry choked, Ed felt his last nerve snap. He felt his claws reforming and fangs growing. Hughes laughed and transformed as well, making it harder for the girl to even get anything while she could. "Let's see how a Dark Angel can save the woman he loves, and his own life!" With a flick of his wrist, Winry was sent flying towards the end of the roof, hurtling over to the ground. She screamed for help. Ed unfolded his wings and started to go after her. He dove and sped up with all of his might. When Winry saw him though, she cowered and screamed harder. He grabbed her waist with much effort and then halted in mid air. When both of them looked to see how far they were, they saw there was only about twenty feet left before she would have hit the ground.

Ed looked at her and felt himself change in a different way. His skin turned its normal tan color and his teeth and claws disappeared. His black hair was the only remainder. Winry looked at him in disbelief and then smiled. "Ed, you're a--?" He nodded and was about to fly up when he sensed something coming towards him. Carefully but quickly, Ed dropped Winry so she fell safely. Right when she landed, he felt something pierce his chest. He choked and looked to see a claw. Darkness started to take over his view and before he left, he saw Hughes going after Winry.

Winry saw Hughes coming towards her and then saw Ed fall to the ground. She let tears slide down her cheeks as the demon moved in on her. "Damn you." Hughes looked at her and continued to walk forward. "Damn you to hell, you bastard!" Winry held her breath and started to run as fast as she could to Riza's gun. She found it lying in her hands and picked it up, going towards Edward. When she reached her destination, she held the gun in front of her like Riza would and stood, protecting the fallen boy.

Maes laughed. "What are you gonna do, kill me?" He continued to laugh until a bullet pierced his right shoulder. He stopped and yelped, looking at the fresh wound. He then looked up at her. "You'll pay for that bitch!" He lunged at her and she jumped out of the way, sliding on the concrete with her bare skin. Before she could get up, he picked her up and held her eye level to him. "Don't worry Winry, you will be with Edward soon, I can assure you of that!" Before he could make his move though, he dropped her to the ground.

Winry looked up to see Ed biting down into Hughes' neck. The evil demon fell and lay still. Ed himself fell back down to the ground and both turned back into their human forms. She got up and ran to Ed. She checked for his pulse…..slowly but surely, he was still alive. She carefully took Ed into her arms and pulled him gently into her lap, cradling him as if he was her baby. And truly, he really was.

"Alphonse, where have you been!" Roy stumbled across the young Elric and felt enraged at him. He stared terrified at him. I have been looking for Ed. Have you seen him?" Roy spat. "He flew off after Hughes!" Al just stared and ran after him as he took off. "What?" Jumping in a car and then driving to the hospital, the two jumped back out and headed for the roof. People were gathered at the bottom, hoping to catch a glimpse of a fight. Roy pushed them away and he and Al made it to some stairs. They ran all flights and after killing their knees, they made it to the top to find the door kicked open.

Walking onto the roof, Roy spotted Riza crumpled on the ground, blood trickling down her brow. He ran to her and kneeled down, picking her up. He then carried her down to a working floor of the hospital. "Al, look for anybody else!"

Winry heard Roy's voice and looked around. She then saw a familiar boy. "Al!" Alphonse turned around and spotted her holding his brother. His face had a horrified expression. Running over, he fell to his knees, examining him and whimpering. "Win, what happened?" His voice was urgent. Winry just stared at Ed, cradling him from any harm. "He is gonna be fine Al, just wait." Al wanted to protest, but something in Winry's voice made him stop and watch. The two teens sat there and waited and soon something had started to happen. Winry smiled as Ed grimaced and whimpered from the pain of healing. He screamed loudly and she held him closer, hoping to comfort him. After a few minutes of Ed healing and screaming, with Al screaming, everything fell silent. Winry looked at him and he opened his eyes.

Ed smiled weakly and looked at her and then to Al. Al smiled and patted his chest. "You made it brother." He coughed. "Yeah, but did everybody else?" Winry couldn't help but cry. He never thinks about himself or his life, its always the other people that matter. She let a tear fall and he looked up at her. Reaching up, Ed wiped a tear from her face. Staring down at him, she leaned over and kissed him lightly. He returned it and she continued it. After a long few seconds, they broke apart and Ed relaxed, closing his eyes.

Winry turned to Al. We should take him to Rizenbool." Al nodded and the two than stood up. Roy came back up and picked Ed up and carried him down to the car, and set him in the backseat. Winry and Al jumped in the back and Roy drove back to HQ. Getting there, they all went to the dorms.

Roy drove back to the hospital and climbed to the roof. He searched it and found Hughes, lying dead in the middle of the concrete. His face was twisted and had fangs. Hi hands were clawed along with his feet and his eyes were glazed open and red. Roy bent down and shut them. He then kneeled down and straightened him so he was lying as if he just fell asleep. Roy finished and then sat down by his best friend, staring at his demented body.

Roy felt his fists clench and shake and he felt anger rise. Hurt tears rolled down as he tried not to yell. Putting his face in his hands, Roy silently cried, wishing that Hughes could have been someone else. "Dammit Hughes, you didn't have to trade your life for this. You could have lived better. You just threw it all away! WHY?" He yelled out in frustration. Finishing the fit, Roy stood next to the demon man. He let one more tear fall and then he held up his hand. Snapping his fingers, he set the body to flames. He then walked to the door and left him to burn.

Hey everybody, hope you liked this chapter. I will be finishing this story in two more chapters so yeah. More details to come later. Just to leave a hint, there will be a sequel. winks Well, please review and tell me what you thought about this chapter, thank you very much!