A/N: well, here's the last chapter of this sad FMA story. as i said in chapt. 5 i will use the lyrics from the famous Brothers Song (in english not russian and it's sung by vic mignogna in english! -squee-) but i am gonna make some of the verses different from the original lyrics. anywayz, here's the last chapter. i realized that the Brother's Song fit this story well. o yea...i give all the credit for the Brother's Song to the people who made it!
Disclaimer: I do not own FMA or any of it's awesome characters! or the song for that matter!
italics - the Brothers Song and flashbacks
Chapter 6: Never Meant To Be
How can I repay you Sister of mine?
How can I expect you to forgive?
Clinging to what I see before me now,
I've shattered her chance to live...
"What happened! What's wrong!" Ed cried as he burst through the door. Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc, and Al were all in a circle around two figures. One of them was Winry, the other was on the hard floor, red began to stain the floor, and Winry's dress. Ed looked at Winry, who was sobbing and sobbing. She took her eyes off of the figure below, and looked at Ed, standing in the doorway. The tears rolled down her face, and he looked at her hands...covered in blood. Ed reluctantly pushed himself to see what was lying below her, beside her, face down. He slowly looked, and blinked in horror, having a feeling that would make him want to hurl right then and there. The figure lying on the now stained red floor, was Auntie Pinako herself...
"She's dead Ed...she's dead..." Winry sobbed and sobbed. Mustang took off his hat and placed it on his chest, turning away from the poor girl and her now deceased grandmother.
"What?...How...how could that be...I don't understand who could have done this!" Ed cried.
"Brother...Auntie's death...wasn't normal. It seems like she died from the inside. Something killed her from the inside...what or who could possibly do that!" Al cried as he knelt down the comfort Winry. Ed's eyes widened. Could it be her? Why would it! How could it! It just didn't make sense!
"Winry...I'm sorry...I'm sorry this is all my fault.." Ed said as he walked slowly over to Winry.
"Your fault? Ed? How is it your fault?" Winry sniffled as he knelt beside her. He embraced her with a hug, tears began to form in his eyes. He didn't answer her question, all he knew was that this happened because of him. He didn't listen, and now, Auntie was gone...
Though we knew the laws, we paid no heed...
How can we return her wasted breath?
What we did not know, has cost you dear,
For there is no cure for death...
The mist like figure who had just returned from her killing flew back through the window into the tiny home. She was different now. Her hair was smoother, and her eyes were cold. On her chest was a red tatoo of a snake, ready to eat itself. Her outfit was a black dress with black gloves on. She looked at herself, scared and afraid. What was she now? What had possessed her to kill that woman!
Trisha had disappeared in her new mistlike form, and entered the automail's room. Pinako was busy making new automail arms and legs for customers. She heard a faint noise from the back and wondered who it was. She entered the kitchen and found no one, except a puddle of water. "Strange. I don't remember spilling anything." Pinako said to herself and walked over to the puddle. Once she was close enough it splashed up to form Trsiha!
"YOU! I KNEW IT! YOU'RE NOT TRISHA ELRIC! YOU'RE A HOMUNCU-aaah!" Pinako screamed but before she could finish she was being strangled to death.
"Silence! You witch! You'll die right here and now!" Trisha cried, a smile appeared. The strangle continued, but Pinako was able to bite on to Trisha's hand. She cried in pain as she let go of the old hag and backed away slightly. Den rushed up and knocked Trisha down, sinking his fangs into her shoulder. She easily disposed of the dog and knocked him out, giving him a sprained front paw. Pinako backed away slightly, but was caught off guard once more, and the strangle began again. She screamed in pain, and bit down hard again. Trisha fought the pain, but when it became unbearable she started to beat the poor woman. After the third strike, she raised her fist up, and suddenly it turned into a liquidy form! It was then that something took over her. She changed. Her hair was straightened, her outfit was all black, and now her eyes were dull and lifeless. She knew what she had to do. She struck, the water rushed through the poor woman's body until finally, she had drowned at the hands of a homunculous. Blood began to spill onto the floor from the woman's mouth, and Trisha...no, the homunculous backed away slowly, letting the woman's body hit the hard floor. She looked in horror, and disappeared in a mistlike form, before everyone from her home would come to the house.
She screamed in pain and held her head tightly with her hands, they were shaking with fear. Only one question continued to pop in her head. She roared in pain, her homunculous form began to change into a frail, weak, creature...something not human. The bone ribs were beginning to show, she began to lose her skin, her eyes were becoming red, a pink glow could be seen. Her hair was out of place, and everything was disfigured and deformed. It wailed in pain, it's voice was in high pitch, but she shrieked her painful question. "What...Am...I!" Her shriek echoed through the house, and she slithered down to the cold, dark basement, where no one could see...could see what that thing really was...
Beautiful mother soft and sweet.
Once you were gone we were not complete.
Back through the days we reached for you,
Alas twas not meant to be...
The room was silent, and Hawkeye and Havoc bent down to the three children. The two military lieutenants helped them up and they walked away from Pinako. Winry extended her arm to reach out to her grandmother, wanting to stay by her side. She screamed and yelled to be let go as they were taken outside. The only ones left in the room were Mustang and Hughes. Mustang put his hat back on, and looked down at the old woman. Her glasses were crushed and broken, and her pipe seemed to have rolled off somewhere.
"Well Hughes? What do you make of this? You're in the investigations department, get to investigating already." Mustang said.
"Why can't you just say please Roy?" Hughes joked, sighed, and bent down to inspect Pinako. He examined, and had a puzzled look on his face.
"Well? What do you make out of this? We have three heartbroken kids outside, that's reason enough to find out who the killer is, and fast." Mustang asked.
"Al was right, her death wasn't normal. But I can say it started with a struggle, and finally came to strangle. See right here I can see some details of a hand's grip on the poor woman's neck." Hughes said and pointed. He was right, there was some details of what Hughes had described.
"That sounds normal to me. Being strangled to death." Mustang said.
"Right. But here's the weird part. It seems that the strangle didn't work as the criminal suspected, and it came down to brutal force. There are some black and blue spots on her face, but what puzzles me is how this little lady was killed from the inside. I can make out that she might have been flooded with water, but it's just confusing." Hughes said and stood up as he scratched his hand.
"You're saying something that's supernatural killed her?" Mustang asked.
"Yeah. The question is, what supernatural something did this." Hughes added.
"I think I have an idea." Mustang answered and the two walked outside. It was there that they saw only Winry as Ed and Al returned home. They had already figured out who the culprit was...
Beautiful mother soft and sweet,
Once you were gone, we were not complete.
Back through those days we reached for you,
Alas twas not meant to be...
Ed and Al burst through the door, there was silence... The called out their mother's name, but no answer could be heard. They were scared, they had realized that it was their fault for Auntie's death and it made their guilt rise. They searched the whole entire house, but found nothing. They entered the last room their mother had been in, and saw blood...a trail of it leading somewhere. Why hadn't they seen it before? Probably because by now they were frantic. The blood was from a puddle of water.
"Ed...what happened here?" Al asked.
"I don't know Al...but, there's only one way to find out.." Ed replied and they followed the traces of blood. It finally led to the basement, where they had transmuted their mother so long ago. Al gulped as he stood behind his brother, following close behind as the brothers ventured into the basement...
It was dark...damp...cold...a feeling that was eery began to take hold of the brothers. There was movement in the dark basement, and it made the brothers jump. They took another step foward, and a muffled voice could be heard. They thought they coul hear a faint heartbeat come from the basement. They were close to the light, and turned it on. They saw something slither farther into the darkness when a glimpse of light could shine on the hideous creature.
"Brother...what was that?" Al squeaked.
"I don't know Al...here hold the lantern." Ed said when he handed the small lantern. Al did so, and raised it up to the darkness. They saw another movement, and pressed on. They stopped when they reached a familiar white line. They shone the light on it and found out it was the circle they had used! What puzzled them both, was a large substance of blood that formed a line that led to the darkness. Ed pressed on with the lantern as Al stayed where he was. Ed disappeared into darkness, Al waited...and shrieked when he heard his brother's voice scream. The lantern rolled onto the floor, stopping by Al.
"Brother!" Al cried and took the lantern by the hand and rushed to Ed.
"How are you feeling Miss Winry?" Hughes asked politely.
"I...I think I'm a little better thank you Mr. Hughes..." Winry replied with a sniff.
"Hughes, we'd better get to the Elrics. I have a bad feeling about this..." Mustang said and motioned to their house.
"I want to come too...please, they're my best friends and I care about them." Winry said with concerned eyes. There was a short silence. Finally, Mustang coughed to break the silence, and answered the poor girl's request.
"All right. But if something bad happens I want you to go with Miss Hawkeye okay?" he said to her and she nodded with a stern look. Den game around and gave Winry a nudge, he had Pinako's pip in his mouth. Winry gasped, and made a teary smile as she took the pipe from Den's mouth.
"Good boy Den...good boy." she said and the group headed to the Elric's house.
"Brother!" Al cried and took the lantern by the hand and rushed to Ed. He searched for his brother through the darkness, and found a crumpled body on the floor.
"ED!" Al screamed and helped his brother up. Ed looked pretty spooked, and Al asked what had happened. Ed shook one finger and pointed to shadowy figure, it's eyes were giving off a menacing pink glare. Al went to investigate, but Ed held him by his shirt weakly.
"No Al! Don't...don't look it's too...heartbreaking..." Ed stammered but Al ignored his brother. He held the light up to the creature, and gasped in horror. It was their mother, in her true form. Al turned away, and couldn't help but vomit.
"H...How Brother! Is that really her!" Al asked in alarm. Ed nodded.
"Al...that's mom in her true form...that's her, the way she's supposed to be from our human transmutation..." Ed said weakly.
"True form! Brother! How can this be possible! Why now!" Al cried.
"Al...Al I'm sorry...We were wrong...I was wrong...I'm sorry Al...I'm so sorry..." Ed sobbed and sobbed.
And how can I make amends?
For all that I've done till now?
I led you with hopeless dreams...
My Brother I am a fool...
The group entered the Elric's home, they saw no one, heard nothing. They searched the house for clues. In the basement, the thing that was their mother began to shriek as she saw the two look at her with terrified eyes.
"Al...Phonse...Ed...Ward!" it seemed to be gasping for breath as it's arm called them foward. They backed away, and she slithered foward.
"Al...we need to fix this...we need to make this right...This wasn't supposed to happen, and now, because of our mistake Auntie's dead. She's not our mom...she never was...I see that now, but it's too late. The least we can do is..get rid of this, this thing for good so it won't hurt anyone anymore." Ed said in a low whisper.
"How Brother? How?" Al whispered back.
"We'll de-transmute her with the human transmutation circle. Let's lead her there...to where she can rest in peace.." Ed whispered back and the two crept out of the darkness, the thing following, calling their name desperately. She was slow, but she was able to follow. Ed and Al ran outside the circle, and with their mother's blood they drenched their hands in it, ready to slap them back on the circle.
"Ed...Ward...Al...Phonse..." the thing echoed in the darkness, they could see it's eyes shining pure red. Al began to cry and cry, his hands were shaking.
"Al...are you ready?" Ed asked, but Al continued to sob, no answer would come out.
Don't cry for her now, dear Brother of mine.
Neither you nor I are free from blame.
Nothing can erase the things we've done,
For the path we took was the same...
When Trisha was in the center of the circle, Ed slapped his hands on the circle. There was a flash of purple light, and a whirlwind of alchemy began to come from Trisha. She screamed in pain and began to disappear, the alchemy was working. But she continued to her boys, even if she was this thing, she was still their mother. Why couldn't they understand that? Why did her appearence make her boys hate her so, cry in shock? It made no sense to her.
"AL! I NEED YOUR HELP! AL!" Ed called to his brother who stared at their once beautiful mother, how she had become this thing...the thing he had seen in his dreams. Al snapped out of it once his brother shook him, and he quickly placed his hands on the circle. Trisha screamed even louder, her raspy voice echoing throughout the tiny basement.
"I think I heard something from downstairs!" Winry called and everyone rushed to the basement. As everyone entered, they saw Ed and Al, and the thing that was screeching in pain. The alchemy was working, and the thing began to disappear in dust. Before she was truly gone, her raspy voice echoed throughout the room.
"Why?..." The group stood away from the Elrics, as they both were huddled together, crying away. Winry was the only one who slowly walked up to them, and gave them both a hug. It was a very sad day that day...
My dreams made me blind and mute!
I long to return to that time!
I follow with louder words...
My Brother the fault is mine...
The next day the two brothers were on top of the hill, staring at their mother's grave. The one next to hers read Pinako Rockbell. Ed stood, while Al cried and cried. How long had it been since he had? Ed would wonder...it seemed they had been here for days, weeks...
"Al.." Ed said quietly.
"Brother..." Al replied with a sniffle. Ed clenched a fist.
"We were wrong...we should have never done this...I should have never pushed you to doing this...And now, because of our...my mistake, Auntie's gone, and now we're all alone. You, me, and Winry..." Ed said.
"Brother...that's not really cheering me up.." Al said with a frown.
"The truth is, from the very start, I believed mom was a homunculous when signs showed. It's just...I don't think any kid would want to believe that what they succeeded at was really a failure, you know?" Ed said and Al nodded.
"Now what do we do though Ed?..What do we do?" Al asked.
"I think, we should become state alchemists, like what Mustang said. If we become state alchemists, then we can search for dad!" Ed exclaimed.
"You mean it Ed! But I thought you always hated daddy..." Al said.
"Yeah...but he's the only one left for us...and I intend to bring him home." Ed said with a small smile. Winry rushed up to them, a small smile on her face.
"Hello there you two. What are you guys planning?" Winry asked.
"We're going to become state alchemists Winry!" Al exclaimed, already his bright smile showed. Winry laughed.
"That's great Al! But I'm coming with you. And don't protest Ed, I'll be alone with Den if you guys leave without me." Winry ordered with a frown. Den ran up to them. Ed was silent, and he gasped slightly. He lowered his head to the ground, and finally sighed. He looked up, a smile on his face.
"All right Winry. You'll be coming with us. After all, we can't leave our childhood friend behind." he said with a grin. Winry smiled back.
"You really mean it Ed?" Winry asked and Ed nodded, to be toppled by Winry who hugged him.
"Thank you Ed, thank you." Winry said, tears in her eyes. Ed smiled sheepishly, blushing. As Winry got off of Ed, the two blushed and looked away slightly before their eyes met again.
"After all," Al said as he stood up, the two looked at him with questionable eyes. "We're all we've got now. We're a family Brother, Winry. Without the three of us here together, we'd be nothing apart." he finished and the two smiled. Then, it was settled. Tommorow they would go to Central, both Ed and Al would meet Mustang and take his offer of becoming State Alchemists, with Winry always cheering them on. Tommorow would be a new day, a day filled with hope, a day filled with a new adventure, a new quest..
So where do we go from here?
And how to forget and forgive?
What's gone is forever lost...
Now all we can do is live...
"The day all three of us left, we burned our family homes. Because some memories, aren't meant to leave traces..."
A/N: well! There u have it! the last chapter! u can probably tell that some of the lyrics weren't the original, but I had to make it that way. i'm guessin u know from the beginning that they're referring to Winry as their sister so yea lol. and u can prolly see that Al's quote is a little different too. and okay okay, i lied slightly, it sorta had a semi-happy ending. I can't stand my stories not have good ones! lol i hope u liked it, and thank u so much for reviewing! I'll ask ya one more time, for the last chapter plz R&R and tell me how u liked it!