Episode 52: The Final Gift

By SoulfulZen

This fic was started at 1:34 in the morning, right after I finished watching FMA Episode 51: Death. It left me with so many questions, I needed to write. I plan to have at least 3 extra episodes. This is just the first.

Disclaimer: If I owned full metal alchemist, there would have been at least 54 episodes. But there are only 51. Oh yeah, few quotes from Megadeth and Lord of the Rings thrown in. Oh yeah, the commercials are strict satire. I don't own shit but the ideas.

Rose's scream shook the dust from the rafters. Ed was... no. It couldn't be. Edward HAD to still be alive. It was HIM who had to kill Dante and the Homunculi, HIM who was supposed to make it all better. She took one look at Al, and she knew she was wrong. No matter what, as long as Ed was alive, Alphonse still had a fire in his eyes. Hope was ever present. Now, it was gone. Al would have had tears streaming down his eyes if he were human. She collapsed, eyes soaking the floor, awakening from a traumatized stupor only to be shattered again.

In Central, Izumi felt something wrench within her heart. She knew that something horrible had happened to Ed. Suddenly, Archer burst around the corner and started blowing everyone away with his mouth-cannon. Izumi quickly pulled a small barrier out of the wall with her alchemy. Quickly, Archer ran completely out of bullets. He chuckled loudly. "And now, all that remains is the wench with the alchemy. Ha. It was so easy, disposing those brothers who claimed to be the Elrics. All those soldiers tried to save them, but they all died so easily. And now, before I eliminate the threat to Fuhrer Bradley, I simply have to kill you. What a piece of cake." Izumi growled. How could this shit bag kill so many people without thought and... LAUGH about it! It made her blood boil. Suddenly, she realized what she had to do.

Izumi leaped over the barrier and landed in front of Archer. She quickly dodged his punch and attempted to land on his head. He attempted to swat her again with his hand, but only flipped her around a bit. She bounced off of his back and landed hard on the floor, quickly standing. He slammed his hand down hard on her, but she quickly used alchemy to annihilate the arm, just like Ed told her that Scar had done, and just like Ed had done himself. The ton of metal crashed through a wall, killing a hiding soldier. Izumi quickly leaped onto his shoulders and grabbed his head. Archer was shocked. He was unbeatable! He was perfect! How could this wench even touch him! He quickly got over his issues and activated a device within him. "Ah well, better we both go down by my hand than you kill me." He said. Izumi realized what he was talking about and back flipped away. She was too late. Archer self destructed, charring her thoroughly.

In north, the situation was desperate. Many of the dissenting troops were trying to raise the white flag and repatriate. The tanks annihilated them on sight. Soon, the Mustang corps knew they would send soldiers over the trenches. Havoc and Armstrong ordered everyone to buckle down and prepare to kill or die. They aimed at the edge of the trench, as Havoc peered over. It wasn't troops coming over, they didn't bother. It was just the tanks. Havoc told this to Armstrong, who punched the edge of the wall. A ten-foot-tall spike of earth pierced one of the tanks, but dozens more still came. He kept punching, breaking tank by tank, but more kept coming. He was getting tired.

Soon, Havoc looked over. There was one left, and it was badly damaged. "Hey, Armstrong, one left! Armstrong?" He looked at his commander. He had passed out. Quickly, Fury took his pulse. He raised his eyes to Havoc's in despair. Armstrong had died of sheer exhaustion. A tear fell from Havoc's eye. He quickly regained composure. He, Armstrong, Mustang, Hawkeye, everyone knew this was suicide. But he didn't think Armstrong would be the first to go, not in a million years. "Everyone, prepare to fire on the incoming tank." They nodded, knowing how desperate they were.

In the Fuhrer's wine cellar, Mustang was down, panting. He kept trying to catch the homunculus on fire, but to no avail. Suddenly, an obvious though struck him. He snapped his fingers. Immediately detecting it, Fuhrer King Bradley sent a tachikaze (wind off of a sword stroke) towards him. Mustang grinned. The homunculus realized what he was doing. Roy was going to ignite the air inside the wine bottles. He braced for the blast. As the fire began to consume the very atmosphere around him, Roy quickly moved the air currents into a hurricane-like spin, placing him in the eye. However, the Fuhrer saw this coming and sent a tachikaze into the blaze before he was consumed. The eye broke in upon itself, and Mustang was incinerated by his own flames. Fuhrer Bradley quickly left, still burning. He dashed to his shower to douse himself.

When a heavily burnt Fuhrer came around the corner, Hawkeye barely disguised her surprise. The fuehrer grinned, as his family and the soldiers came to his aid. "Well, it seems that the little rat in the cellar was Mustang himself. Dear, get the fire extinguisher down there and put the wine cellar out. I'm afraid that Mustang decided to take a few thousand dollars of top-quality wine with him. Oh, and men, I need to have a private meeting with Ms. Hawkeye in my study. Bring her up there while I slip into some fresh clothes." The guards nodded and brought her up. She was having a hard time dealing with Roy's death, so she couldn't put up a fight.

And now, because it isn't cheap to make fan fiction (lie), I have to sell commercial space. However, it's the perfect place for commercial satire.

Two women, old friends through High School, ran into each other at a party. Both had been married over the years. After a bit, they were fawning over each others' wedding rings. "Oh, it's so pretty!" one said.

"Thanks. He went to Jared. And... oh my god! Your ring is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!" she replied. The first woman's ring was an intricate weaving of silver and obsidian, almost like the roots of a tree. The stone was a beautiful purple opal with what looked like black veins throughout it.

"Isn't it? He went to..."

"Jared! Aw, our husbands must have had the same thing in mind!"

"No, actually. He went to The Shane Company," she said, "This is a one-of-a-kind ring, made exclusively for me."

"Oh." Suddenly, man's voice said "The Shane Company, importers of only the finest diamonds, rubies and sapphires since 19..."
"Oh shut up," the woman with the mass-produced ring said as she dumped her wine on her friend's dress.

Just outside of Rizenbul, a general loyal to the Fuhrer addressed his corps, which consisted of about fifteen troops. "Our orders, men, are to kill anyone who knew the Elric brothers and eliminate any trace of their existence or of this operation. As this is a small town, it is safe to assume that every man, woman and child had some knowledge of him. In short, your orders are to kill anything that moves and burn everything down." The troops nodded.

In town, Winry noticed something odd. There was something in the distance that looked almost like soldiers, but it couldn't be. They all knew that Ed and Al were in Central. Why were they here? She got a very bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Hey, Sheska, let's go inside." She said, slightly nervous. No reply. "Sheska?" She looked over at the bookworm and screamed. There was a small, red hole between her eyes. She looked around, as she felt a breeze pass by her hair. She looked at the line of men, and realized that they were being fired on.

In the Fuhrer's office, Hawkeye just sat there, terrified. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but the apocalyptic side of her logic was giving reminding her that she was very, very mortal and in the hands of someone who would kill her without thought. Soon, he came in and sat down. "Well, let's just cut straight to the point," he said. "You and I both know that you were in on Mustang's little coup the entire time. Why you told me about him being here, I'll never know, but I'm sure it's not because you had a change of heart. Now, you can either make me find a reason to shoot you, or you can sign this confession and make it easier for me."

"Never," she glared. If she died, she would die without compromise.

"Very well," he said, glancing momentarily towards the door, "Gentlemen, why don't you bring my son in here? He seems to be listening in anyway, so why not?" The soldiers gave a momentary look of disbelief, but saluted and complied. The scared boy just stood there in the side of the room as his father grinned.

"You monster! How can you claim to be this boy's father when you're not even human!" The boy gasped and his eyes widened. Bradley grinned even wider and beckoned his son over to him.

"Now, son," he said, "Don't listen to her. Besides, I do have a little secret to tell you." Slowly his hand slipped under the desk. He leaned over to the boy's ear, and whispered, "I'm not human." He quickly pulled the silenced pistol out from under his desk and with a quiet cough, sent a bullet through the child's temples. Hawkeye screamed, pulled her pistol and began shooting at the Fuhrer. She got three shots off. One hit the books behind him, one hit him in the arm, and one hit him in the collarbone. However, she had several bullets loaded into her head before she could squeeze off another round.

Fuhrer King Bradley sank against the wall, arm hanging limply. How had he not managed to dodge those bullets? He saw them coming. Maybe she was just that good... But it was too late to ponder that now. Now he had to set up his son's funeral. After all, that malcontent Hawkeye had shot him before she was executed by the elite guard.

As Edward's soul pulled itself from his body, Rose had just started screaming. In his eyes, the entire room was going paler and paler, fading to white. Odd, he'd always thought it would fade to black as he went to the gate. Well, it didn't really matter as he slipped away. All that he needed to know now was peace. It was his weakness that had let Envy kill him, his own pitiful sympathy. Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20.

As he felt his feet meet something solid, he knew where he was headed. Although it was by no means his style to accept something he didn't like gracefully, this time he knew he had to. As he paced towards the gate, he felt a bony claw on his arm. He whipped around and saw a tall skeleton in hood, carrying a massive scythe. Edward shivered in fear.

"Well, Edward Elric, son of Hohenheim Elric. It's been a marvelous chase, but the time is up. You've evaded me for far too long, and now I finally have you."

"Wh-wh-what are you gonna do to me?"

"I'm going to send you through the gate, like every other spirit." Ed bowed in fear and began to walk off. The reaper grabbed his arm, and said, "Wait, wait a moment. You just got here, and ever since you tried to bring your mom back, you've been very high on my list, just because of how many times you should have died. I'd like to have a bit of a chat before I send you off. After all, you've done a very good job at surviving." He pulled a chair out of the white and offered one to Ed.

As they began talking, in Northern, the tank was getting closer and closer. They were out of any kind of munitions, and since nobody here had seen the gate, the lack of chalk for alchemic circles was crippling. However, the tank was in horrible condition itself. The armor was curled and worthless, and, unbeknownst to the rebels, the firing mechanism was broken. All it was now was, according to the commander inside, a screaming metal suicide bomb.

Suddenly someone shouted. He had found a single bullet in Armstrong's pocket. Havoc quickly loaded it into his rifle. He took aim at a hole in the armor, and squeezed the trigger. He saw it hit, and something explode inside the tank. He grinned. Maybe now the tank would stop. Unfortunately, he had ricocheted off of the fuel injector, as well as a few other bits, and through the brake line. The tank was now going at full speed with no way of stopping. However, the rebels didn't know, so they simply sat back and enjoyed their small victory. Fury perked up, then asked, "Hey, did you guys hear something?" The tank rolled over the edge of their trench, squashing Havoc, Fury and a few others. The loyalist infantry then swept in and killed the survivors.

Back in Rizenbul, Winry and Pinako lay dead on the floor of their house, shot. The dog had been shot. The birthing mother, the doctor and the newborn baby in the town doctor's office had been shot. Everyone but the soldiers were dead and piled in houses. The soldiers dumped kerosene everywhere. Once they were all out, someone lit a match and set the liquid fuse alight. By the next day, the village was nothing but ashes.

In the Hidden City, Envy was sitting on the corpse's knees, just looking. "Envy!" Dante snapped, "It's time to complete the plan. Let's go."

"Hold on. I've wanted him dead for some time, and I think that I deserve a few minutes to observe my handiwork."

"Fine. Five minutes," she said. Envy looked over his slain foe. It was like looking at something familiar more closely for the first time. He began to appreciate the artful curves and corners of the automail arm and leg. He began taking in the pitifully human smell of his rival. Something about it was almost intoxicating.

For some reason, Envy saw his rival with new eyes. Something about him was sweet. Almost pitiful. He ran his hand through the blond locks. There was something that Envy sympathized with. He tiled the dead boy's head forward, and just stared into his eyes. The golden orbs were wide open, dilated. It was like a pit was growing within him, eating his soul. Envy was almost sad about killing him. The sympathy he had used to kill Ed was now working against him. They WERE like brothers. But there was something odd about the soft neck resting on his hand. It still warm, even though it was almost five minutes later. Surely it would be a little cooler because of the automail. Heck, he could almost feel the blood pulsing under his skin, so very close to the surface. But it was his eyes... something was wrong.

Envy saw something red, deep in the center of Edward's eyes. The transmutation circle that the stone was on began glowing a fiery red. Suddenly, the homunculus realized what the red glows were, as twin, red transmutation circles came into focus in Ed's pupils. Envy tried to leap back, but to no avail. He was dropped off on his head. The corpse rose into the air and began spinning. Rose mumbled, "Ed... Oh my god... I would die to have you back." Suddenly, Al began glowing bright red as he was sucked into Edward's body. Rose's form also began gravitating towards the floating alchemist, slowly growing translucent as she vanished.

In central, the bodies of many soldiers and Izumi slowly were sucked downward, through the floors and foundations. In the Fuhrer's house, the cadavers of Hawkeye and Mustang did the same. All over the world, the bodies of those that Edward Elric loved in life were coming to aid him.

At the gate, the reaper tipped his hood. "Well, m'boy," he said, "It's time for you to get back to the world of the living."

Spirit-ed's eyes sprang wide. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that every age needs its savior. You have been gifted with this age. After all, equivalent exchange says that for every thing that happens, something must happen because of it. You passed through the gate and returned, at least in spirit. That's gotta be worth something," the reaper finished. Ed grinned. He knew that it was time to go back to his old, stubborn ways. The reaper grabbed an invisible handle in the white floor and opened it. They were just above Ed's floating body. He stared at his form, spinning round and round. The reaper nudged the spirit forward just a bit with the end of his scythe. As the soul began falling back to the body, the reaper shouted, "Give 'em hell, kid! That Dante's almost as persistent as you!"

The body in the air spun faster and faster, as souls were absorbed into it. Now older spirits came to him, those of Hohenheim, Hughes, Marcoh and even his mother. A red fog began forming, as a large crack in the ceiling opened up, sending gallons of red water down on the dead alchemist. The fog grew faster now, absorbing the red water. Everyone backed off. Suddenly, with a massive blue explosion, something fell to the floor in a catlike landing. As the now-blue fog cleared, those there saw a human form stand up. Envy's eyes widened in terror. It couldn't be him! But he knew that it was. "It can't be you!"

"You thought that after all I've been through, you could take me out that easily? You're wrong." Out of the fog, taller than before, stepped the Full Metal Alchemist. "Now, it's time for you to pay for what you've done!"

That's the end of Episode 52! Damn, I wrote myself into quite a few corners there. Not easy to finish, this one. But I'm glad I wrote it. Oh yeah, I got funding for the fic halfway through so I don't have to do any more commercials! (Translation, I ran to the store for my folks and got $1.25 and now I'm too lazy to write any more commercials)

Next time on Full Metal Alchemist:

Episode 53: Wrath of an Immortal

"What do you mean they're all dead! I dragged myself back from death to find everyone I cared about is where I should be!"