Hey, everybody! Yes, finally, the next chapter! W00t! Hehe…okay, I'm kind of in a silly mood today (which probably makes it obvious that I wrote this chapter several days ago, since it's absolutely NOT silly, hehe.) Hope that you like it.
Disclaimer: Incoming message from the Big Giant Head in three…two…one…I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Um…yeah…okay…now I'm just getting too weird.
Al placed his hand on the doorknob of his and his brother's dorm room. He tried to turn it, but his hand slipped off. He was so nervous that his palms were sweating. If there was any way, any way at all that he could get out of doing this, then he would jump at it in a heartbeat, but he couldn't just sit back and let his brother's soul deteriorate until there was nothing left.
Al took a deep breath and then grabbed the doorknob again. He gripped it harder this time, and turned it. It still slid in his slick hands, but this time, he was able to open the door. The door swung open on its hinges with a creak that seemed a bit too loud for Al's liking.
Al just stood there in the doorway, staring into the room. Ed was sleeping peacefully on his bed. Would it be better to wake him, tell him what he needed to do, and hope he'd cooperate, or would it be best to do it by surprise? Even if he were to awaken Ed and explain the whole thing to him, what if Ed decided that he didn't want to cooperate? Then he would constantly be looking over his shoulder at Al, not trusting him.
Al sighed. Either way, he was most likely going to blow Ed's trust in him for the next lifetime, even though this was for his brother's own good. He might never trust him again.
A tear rolled down Al's cheek. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. He took a step into the room. The floor creaked and Al snapped his head up. Ed hadn't moved or noticed. He wiped his brow, and then carefully took another step. That one was quieter, so he took a third. He kept inching closer and closer until he was standing right over Ed.
Ed's eyes were closed and he was breathing softly. A slight smile toyed at the edge of Ed's lips like he was having some sort of pleasant dream. This only made Al's stomach tighten into a knot. Al blinked back more tears and then told himself that he had to do this for his brother's sake.
He firmly gripped the knife and then raised it over his head. The faster he did this, the better. He was about to bring it down, when suddenly Ed mumbled, "Al" in his sleep.
Al stopped short, and dropped the knife. He couldn't do this. There was just no way he could kill his own brother. Not even if it would help him.
The knife clanked to the floor, and Ed opened his eyes. "What was that?" he said. Al stepped back a couple steps. He started bawling and couldn't say a word in response to his brother's question. "Al? What is it?" said Ed, sitting up.
He surveyed the room and found the knife on the floor. Taking the situation in at a glance, he eyed Al and said, "Al…can it be…were you…trying to kill me?"
Al dropped to his knees and started to cry even harder. Ed got up from his bed and walked over to Al, picking up the knife on the way. "Al," he said as he examined the knife, "I've always trusted your judgment…but why?"
Al was still crying uncontrollably, but finally managed to sputter out, "Brother…I…I…don't want you to die!"
This confused Ed. "Then…why were you trying to kill me, Al?"
"Brother," said Al, "That stone is killing you. It's destroying your soul. I was just going to try and destroy that stone, but…that would've killed you too…and…Brother, I'm so sorry!" Al started crying uncontrollably once again.
A look of realization and understanding dawned on Ed's face, and he sank down to his knees beside Al, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Al, it's okay, I understand," he said, "That must've been hard for you to even get as far as you did."
He pulled his hand off of Al's shoulder and looked at the ground. "So…this is the equivalent exchange then, isn't it?" Al nodded and continued to sob. Ed stood up and walked over to the window with his hands behind his back, as if he were thinking. "I always knew that there was some catch to this stone bringing me back to life, I just never knew what it was. That would explain that pain in my chest then," he said, "And why I couldn't remove it, since it had already taken a part of my soul, and I was too weak without the stone around my neck."
He paused and listened to Al's sobbing for a few moments before he continued his soliloquy. "Then, if this stone keeps removing a part of my soul every time I hurt myself, then I'm eventually going to cease to exist, aren't I?" Al continued to cry. There was nothing else he could do. Ed turned around and looked at him with a look of pity on his face.
"Don't cry for me, Al," said Ed, "Perhaps we can find a way to destroy this stone yet. Destroy it so that no one else falls into its trap." He walked over and sat beside Al once again. "Listen, Al, even if worse comes to worst, and we don't find a remedy before I am…well…gone, please make sure to destroy this stone anyway. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. Understand?" Al nodded through his tears. Ed did a slight smile and then patted Al on the back.
"Come on, Al," said Ed as he stood up, pulling Al up beside him, "Dry your tears now. We don't have time to cry. We have some researching to do. We have to find a way to destroy this stone so that I can be set free, and so that it won't trap anyone's soul ever again. We need to plan this out though, since we don't know if there'll be any repercussions from just carelessly trying to break it."
Ed smiled and then grabbed Al's chin and forced him to look into his own eyes. Al's lips quivered, but he finally managed to smile for the first time during that whole discussion. "Yes, Brother," he whispered, "Whatever you say." He then choked and bent over to try and let out a cough.
Ed slipped an arm over Al's back and helped him to walk out of the room. "Don't worry, Al," said Ed, "We'll find a way."
Hope you liked that chapter. Review and I'll update sooner. The more reviews, the faster the update, after all. Heh. The only time that that doesn't apply is when I have no inspiration for the story, and this one I have lots of inspiration for. (I pretty much know how I want it to end, so yeah.) Lots of reviews will mean a faster update, so review, okay? Hehehe
