Hey, everybody! Here's yet another chapter, hope that you like it. Forewarning: It's pretty sad, so don't kill me, I warned you! (Some of my readers like to flip out every time I write a sad chapter, so I thought that I'd play it safe this time and warn you. Heh.)

Disclaimer: I do not own FullMetal Alchemist. Tsimehcla latemlluf nwo ton od I. There, I said it two ways, so hopefully, you'll understand it one way or the other.

He still couldn't seem to make any progress in his studies. No matter what he tried, he couldn't find any information on this stone, and he could tell that his soul was dying fast. He tried hard to take care of himself now, but apparently, this stone kept taking a piece of his soul for the littlest things, and he couldn't do anything about it. If they didn't find a solution soon, he was going to be lost forever.

Ed slammed shut the books he had been reading, and stretched his arms above his head. He needed a break. Even studying too hard might be enough to cause the stone to take a bit of his soul, and he wanted to slow down the process as long as possible. He stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Brother, where are you going?" asked Al, catching him in the process of walking by without saying anything.

"I'm just going for a walk. Don't worry; I'm not going to do anything reckless."

"I'm coming with you."

Ed was about to object. After all, he didn't need a babysitter; he was twenty-one…or was it twenty? He couldn't tell whether the year he was dead counted or not. Just the same, he was old enough to not need supervision, and he didn't want to be fussed over. However, one look into Al's concerned eyes was enough to cause Ed to clamp his mouth shut without a word. He motioned for Al to follow him, and they both started out the building.

It was actually a bright sunny day that day, as compared to the last few days which had been rainy, so the air was clear and crisp. The wind ruffled their hair as they walked through neighborhoods filled with many different styles of houses on their way to the outskirts of the city. Ed liked to bask in the seclusion of nature, and he didn't care how far he had to walk in order to get there. Al always had to make sure Ed didn't overexert himself because of that.

They finally arrived in a nice spot outside of the city, covered by trees beckoning them to take refuge in the shelter they provided. The two were more than happy to comply. This place really was a welcome retreat from the fast pace of the city.

"Al," Ed said as he sat down on the ground with his back against a tree, "How long do you think I have, before I…" He didn't bother to finish his sentence. He knew that Al would understand what he meant anyway.

Al dropped his gaze to the ground. "I-I don't know, Brother." He then quickly shook his head, and said, "Let's not talk about that right now. Are you hungry? I brought some snacks."

Ed snickered just a bit, but gladly accepted the cookie Al offered him. He quickly ate it up, and then allowed himself to relax and drift off to sleep in this peaceful environment.

Sometime later, he found himself rudely shaken awake. He opened his eyes to look into those of the man that had been in charge of the whole project with Al's explosive. The man glared into Ed's eyes, and said, "You think you're pretty smart, don't you?"

Ed fixed the man with a puzzled look until the understanding of what he was referring to dawned upon him. "Listen," he said, "That explosive would've destroyed the city. I merely went to all the lengths necessary to protect the people here."

The man scoffed. "Yeah, and how do you KNOW that it would've destroyed the city? I happen to know that we took every precaution to avoid having any kind of accident like that occur."

"True, but I happen to know that I was dead at the time, and had access to a lot more information than you do. The city would have been destroyed had I not done what I did. I'm sorry if you don't accept that, but that's the truth."

The man erected himself to his full height and stared down angrily at Edward. He flinched for a few moments in an indecisive manner, and then finally formed his hand into a fist, and landed a punch on Edward's cheek, sending him to the ground.

"That was my life's work! You keep your nose out of other people's business!"

"Anything that involves the life of my little brother is my business," Ed said, quickly regaining his strength and standing up so that the man wouldn't tower over him so much. "I'll interfere every time it's necessary if he becomes involved."

The man smirked. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that." He made a hand gesture, and suddenly, out of the bushes came a whole troop of men sporting guns, all centered on Edward.

Edward gave the man a dirty look. "You wouldn't!"

The man laughed wickedly. "Would you like to put that theory to the test?"

Ed put his hands on his hips and glared at the man. He cast a glance around to see where Al was in all of this, but found that he strangely wasn't there. Maybe he had slipped away for a moment while he was sleeping. That was probably for the best anyway. Al didn't need to be involved in this.

Ed turned back to face the man who was confronting him, and gritted his teeth. "Go ahead and kill me if you must. It won't change a thing."

The man made another gesture with his hands, and all the men instantly started firing at Edward. Most of the bullets missed, but a few hit him in the chest, and Ed keeled over. The man went and stood over Edward's body, grinning evilly, and landed a couple kicks to the motionless being before him.

"That ought to teach you not to interfere with my plans," said the man.

"I don't think I've learned the lesson yet," came a voice from below him. The man jerked his head around in surprise, and saw Ed get up and stand on his feet.

"H-How…?"

"You're hopeless," Ed said, "You have no clue how persistent I am. You can't defeat me."

"I grant that you are indeed persistent," said the man, backing down for a moment, "But I am more so!" The man grabbed an old tree branch that was lying on the ground, and transmuted it into a spear. This surprised Ed a bit, since he hadn't even been aware that this man was an alchemist. It nearly caught him off guard, but he managed to dodge when the man thrust the spear at him.

"You think you're pretty swift, don't you?" the man sneered. He turned and lunged at Ed again, only to have Ed once again jump out of the way. This man just couldn't accept when he was beaten, could he?

Ed braced himself as the man was about to come at it again, when he heard a familiar voice call, "Brother!"

Ed turned his head in the direction of the voice and called, "Al! Stay away from…" He didn't get to finish his sentence, for the distraction had been enough for the man to drive his spear into Ed's chest.

"Brother!" Al screamed, running over to where Ed lay on the ground, gasping for breath. "Brother, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" He began crying. "If I hadn't left…and if I hadn't distracted you…this never would have happened! I'm sorry, Brother, I'm sorry!"

Ed weakly reached a hand up to stroke Al's face. "Al, don't worry about it. You actually did me a favor. See? The stone was smashed in the process. I'm no longer bound to this body. I'll be moving on soon." His breathing began to get shallower as he waited.

"No, Brother, you can't die! Not now, please…please try to stay alive! I'll run and get help." Al sprung up and was about to run off, but Ed's hand grabbed a hold of Al's, and wouldn't let him leave.

"No, Al, don't. It's my time to go. I'll be gone before you get back. I'm dying fast, and there's nothing anyone would be able to do. I'm bleeding internally, so I won't be able to exist in this body much longer. I just want to be with you one last time before I go. Please don't leave."

"Brother…I-I…" Al couldn't find words to say, and tears clouded his vision. What was he supposed to do, just sit here and watch his brother die?

Ed put a finger to his lips to indicate that Al needn't say anything. He grabbed Al's hand and squeezed it one last time. "Thank you, Al, for always being there for me. I just wish that I could've always been there for you." With that, Ed smiled up at Al, and then closed his eyes. Al waited for several minutes, but Ed didn't open them back up, and Ed's hand was beginning to grow cold. He knew that he had just lost his brother a second time.

Okay, people, I know that that was a sad ending to this chapter, but you shouldn't be so surprised about that, considering that it's me writing it…and that this whole story's been like that. Anyway, I have one more chapter to write, so please come back soon. No flames though, okay? Thank you very much. Hope to see you again soon.