Flame vs. Lightning

Everyone gathered around the outdoor fighting arena. Fond memories came back to Ed as he looked over the renovated area. It had been almost a year since he had face Mustang in the same arena. Of course, they had made a complete mess out of it and were forced to clean it up. Ed knew that if Rai lived up to her reputation, there wouldn't be anything to pick up.

Mustang stepped into the arena, ready to face his opponent. Ed could tell that he was confident in himself, but today he seemed excited, as if he wanted to fight Rai. His smile grew larger when the guards brought Rai in to face him. They slowly removed her chains and then quickly ran out. Bradley stepped in and started to address the fighters.

"Now I want this to be a clean but exciting match. Try not to destroy the entire arena this time, Mustang. I will declare a winner at the obvious point." Bradley walked off the field and jumped over the wall as Mustang and Rai took their positions.

"Well, Mustang, you seem a little on edge," Rai remarked. "Are you afraid to lose to a teenager?" Mustang just laughed at her words.

"Actually, I'm excited because I want to see what you are made of. This battle is going to be interesting." Ed and Riza watched them both as the fighters prepared to fight. Ed looked towards Riza. Her eyes were full of fear and distress. This was probably the worst thing for Riza. Her little sister was fighting against the man she promised to protect. Ed decided to break the ice.

"Don't worry, Riza. They'll be fine. They can hold their own."

"That's not what I'm worried about," she commented. "As you can see, Roy clearly has the advantage. He has too much experience for Rai. Rai won't go down without a fight. She'll keep going until she can't move. Either way, this is going to be a destructive battle. Two storms are about to clash." Ed knew she was right. This battle would be too dangerous for spectators. They should have moved farther away, but it was too late to say anything. Bradley had given the word.

"FIGHT!" Rai pounded her fists together and lightning immediately started to form from her fists. However, she was to slow to the punch. Roy snapped his finger and a fire bomb hit where Rai was standing. Rai quickly dodged it and sent lightning straight at Roy, who dodged it as well. Roy noticed that Rai stopped to wait for the smoke to clear and he took his chance. He hit her with his flames and sent her flying backwards.

"You can't ever hesitate in battle," he said lightly. "If you do, your opponent will take the opening to destroy you." Rai quickly got up and started throwing lightning bolts at him again. He dodged each one and continued to through fire at her. She managed to dodge most of them, but one hit her in the shoulder and caused it to bleed. It wasn't too bad, but Rai knew that she could only hold him off for so long.

She started running around the arena, continuing to throw lightning at her opponents. She couldn't seem to hit him until finally she grazed his cheek. He wiped the blood from his face as she charged at him throwing punches. He tried to evade them, but she was so fast. She managed to hit him several times. Once she hit her fists together and then sent electricity through his body. He went flying back as she continued to bombard him with lightning bolts. She stopped after a few minutes and walked up to were he was.

"I hope there is something left for the doctors to operate on," she said as the smoke cleared. She gasped with the crowd. Roy had produced a shield of fire to block Rai's attack. Roy smiled and snapped his fingers again, sending a wave of fire at Rai and causing her to lose her balance. Roy continued to send fire at Rai. This time he managed to make most of his bombs hit her directly. He knew that he had this battle won, but Rai didn't.

She tried to stand again, but she fell to the ground. Roy started to walk up to her, ready to attack. "You were a fool to challenge me," Roy said. "You should have fought Full Metal. You would have at least had chance." Rai exploded in lightning bolts. All of her attacks missed Roy and landed around him, causing him to laugh. "You are too tired to even aim properly. Just give up so I don't have to hurt you anymore."

His eyes grew when he saw Rai drawing something on the cement with a piece of chalk. He finally realized it was a transmutation circle. She smiled and started her alchemy. Suddenly, the whole arena was lit up with lightning. Everyone saw what was causing the electricity. There was a giant transmutation circle carved into the arena.

"I see," Roy said. "You weren't trying to hit me at all. You were using your lightning to draw a transmutation circle. Is there a particular reason why?"

"Just wait," Rai said weakly. As the lightning went into the sky, storm clouds started to form above them. Without warning, it started to downpour on the entire State Army. That was when Rai made her attack. She pounded her fists, ready to release her lighting. Roy smiled and snapped his fingers, but something was wrong. He couldn't make a flame. There wasn't even a spark.

"What's going on?" he asked. Rai gave him a sly smile as she charged at him.

"My lightning attracted enough storm clouds to cause a downpour. So many clouds put together can't possibly hold all of that moisture. You don't have too many weaknesses, Mustang, but one of them is your cloth gloves. They are made out of special material so you can transmute flame with one snap. The only problem is your gloves can't produce a spark when they're wet. So, I'd hate to rain on your parade, but…"

Rai let the electricity flow through Roy's body. It shocked his entire system and caused him to collapse on the spot. He could barely move from the pain. He was completely burnt out. Rai explained what she had just done to him.

"I just sent an electric current through your body. Since your body was wet, the lightning was able to conduct better and the attack was more effective. It drained all the energy out of you, so you won't be able to move for awhile. You will live through it, but this battle is over."

"What an excellent performance, Rai," Bradley said as he entered the arena. "You have proved yourself suitable to be a State Alchemist. Congratulations. You are the winner."

"Thanks," Rai said weakly before falling to the ground. Riza quickly ran to her little sister to see if she was alright. "It looks like I just barely beat you, Roy. You were pretty hard to defeat. My electric shock was my last hope. I will be glad to serve under you." Roy smiled as Ed helped him off the field. Rai then looked at Riza with a smile. "Thanks for the help. You think you could get me to a doctor?" With those words, Rai fainted in her sister's arms. Riza smiled, happy that her sister and commander were still alive. It seemed that Rai was warming up to Riza. Maybe things will get better, she thought as she carried Rai to the hospital wing.

All right, there's your fifth chapter. I'll try to update soon. Please be patient with me. Cya.