Chapter 3 – Lost Limbs
"We're doing it tonight," Edward ordered.
"I don't know the first thing about this brother," Alfonso argued.
"It doesn't matter…"
"Why not?"
"I only need a drop of blood from you, that should be enough"
"Brother this is crazy"
"I've made my decision…"
"Alright but I've still got a real bad feeling about this"
Their father walked in.
"Have a bad feeling about what?" Hoenheim asked.
"Oh nothing Al's just joking around about us seeing Winry when she gets back," Ed quickly answered.
Hoenheim didn't seem to pay attention. He noticed Ed's books of the lost arts.
"Edward, I need to talk to you," That hadn't been a question.
Alfonso was left alone in his room. He was thinking that he should probably stop his brother but was reluctant. He always let his brother get his way when he really wanted it.
Meanwhile Winry was attending the funeral. It had been a month since her grandmother had told her the horrible truth.
"Winry it's about your parents…" Her grandmother started.
"Oh, are they coming home?" Winry smiled.
"Dear child they were in the war. How I wish they were coming home…"
"What do you mean?"
"Winry, there's no easy way to tell you this but you should know,"
Winry's playful gaze was beginning to fade.
"Winry your parents were killed in the war"
"This is a sick joke right? They're coming home right?"
"Winry…"
Winry's eyes began to fill with tears.
"IT'S NOT TRUE!' She screamed.
She ran out of her room.
That had been when Edward chased after her. He had comforted her, something she really needed.
She had bugged her grandmother for the brothers to come to the funeral. She hadn't allowed them to. They weren't family after all. However Winry had argued that they had been family, at least to her.
"Grandmother…I'm going to look to the future." Winry stated.
"Very good, that's very grown up of you," She replied.
Too bad a few miles away her friends weren't ready to grow up. This stormy night was going to be pouring down hard in more ways than one.
"Edward, you wouldn't be thinking of doing anything stupid would you?" His father mockingly asked.
"What do you mean?" Edward said sarcastically.
"Listen Ed, what you saw your mother and I do. It's not something we had full control of," He explained.
"But you brought Roy back!"
"Yes but at a price"
"What do you mean?"
"We had to do something terrible"
"Like what?"
"Ed just don't try this"
"Try what?"
"My teachings, please. I can't really explain it yet but you must not do this," His father was worried and his face really showed it.
"Like I've ever needed to listen to you since that day," Edward yelled in rage.
Hoenheim was speechless. He knew what day he was talking about. The day Hoenheim had changed…
Later that very night, the brothers were preparing for the main event. It was raining harder and harder.
"People mustn't die at the hands of the others," Edward told his brother.
Al gave a deep sigh.
"Hold out your hand," Edward ordered, quickly pricking his brother's finger open. Blood dripped out as Al brought his hand back quickly.
"Isn't witchcraft and wizardry highly looked down upon brother?" Al asked.
"Why afraid a witch is going to come after us or something?" Edward played.
"Hey, where did our father go anyway?"
"He had something he said he needed to do," Edward answered.
"What did he want anyway?"
"Nothing really…" Edward looked down and shook his head.
"Are you ready?"
"Alright Ed, let's do this,"
They finished drawing the circle they had studied from their books, with their own blood.
"Why did we need to draw blood for this?"
"I dunno, something about needing a sacrifice," Edward told Al.
They began chanting. Al was feeling really uneasy.
At first nothing happened.
"Hmm, Well I guess it's not real after all," Al began.
"But I saw them…" Edward finished looking down at his left leg in horror.
"Al, look at my leg," Edward asked with a hint of fear in his voice.
When he looked down he saw black snakes emerging from the circle. They had gripped themselves around Edward's leg and then they disappeared into his it.
"What the hell was that?" Edward began.
"AHHHH! Damn it, what the hell is happening?" Edward clenched his leg in pain.
"What's the matter? What is it?" Al asked in concern.
"My leg… damn it. It hurts."
Edward fell over on his side. His leg exploded in a shower of blood.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhh…" Edward screeched feeling the greatest pain he had ever felt.
"EDWARD!"
Edward only clenched himself in pain. He was crying…
Al noticed the black snakes as they took what was left of Ed's leg back to the circle in a blinding flash of light. Al ran to his brother in worry.
"Ed, I have to get you out of here!" Al yelled.
Ed kept his eyes closed in pain. He didn't want to move or anything. The pain was too great…
The black snakes returned. Al looked in horror as they surrounded his entire body in a swarm.
Ed looked up in horror as he saw his brother absorbing the snakes into his body.
"AL…Ugh…AL!" Edward was horrified at the sight but still clenching in pain.
"Brother it hurts…" Al warned.
"GET OUT OF MY BROTHER'S BODY DAMN IT!" Edward yelled.
Winry was sitting down on the couch watching TV. There had been a report about the war that had taken the lives of her parents. The man talking about it looked like a monkey, everyone had always joked about it. Iraq was in the middle of turmoil right now and it seemed like everyone was handling it the wrong way.
Of course Winry didn't know too much about war. It was just something she had to learn in school along with Ed & Al.
She thought she heard something outside and decided to investigate.
She listened carefully to hear it again.
There was high-pitched scream. It sounded like…
"Edward?" Winry asked herself in terror.
The scream had come from the direction of their house.
There was a blinding flash of light and Winry ran to the brother's trailer.
She knocked but there was no answer.
"Edward?" She asked for his name, still no answer.
Surprisingly the door was unlocked. She entered.
She looked and looked until she finally came to the brother's room.
What she saw terrified her beyond anything she could have imagined. There was blood everywhere and what looked like guts?
Little creatures tried coming for the limbs but Edward had somehow managed to send them back to the circle. His left leg and right arm were missing.
"Edward? What happened to you and where's Alfonso?" Winry said in shock.
"It's all my fault," Ed explained.
"Brother he had screamed. Its all my fault," Ed was suffering the extremes of pain both mentally and physically.
"Ed! What's your fault?" Winry asked.
"Winry you should let me die here. I don't deserve to live," Ed said.
"Ed! We need to get you to the hospital whether you like it or not!" Winry yelled at him in concern, angry he was talking like this. "Ed I need you!"
Ed looked up to her.
"Winry…Al's…he's…he's…" Edward began coughing up blood.
"What?"
"He's dead…" Edward finally managed.
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I don't own the rights to Full Metal Alchemist. Please review!
If you've seen FMA you know Al's soul is transfixed to a suit of armor. I know it looks like I killed him off right here but I haven't. I promise you that.
I can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter and see how I handle Al's new body, Ed's auto-mail, The military and even a promise of a certain sin to show up...