Yo! I'm BACK! ;)
ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:
Jadasimone16: I think I described her at one point or another, or if I didn't I'll definitely drop hints along the way! :)
Panic: Thanks buddy! I especially liked the melody of the song, since I think it captured the mood well. Well, I wouldn't want to spoil BUT I can say that doesn't have a good relationship with ONE of her parents (which means either mom or dad, but I ain't telling who! ;) AND Greed actually meets one of them later on (which I will write a extra chapter about!) :D
Bob: Outlast? No, sorry, I think I heard it from somewhere but I never played it before. I'm not sure if you heard but there Skyrim REMASTARED will be coming out! *.* With far better graphics, more fluent game play and DLC characters too! The only thing that's bothering me is that the storyline remains the same . It would have made more sense if Bethesda made something like "Skyrim 2" and improved graphics, game play...etc. AND added a new story and new adventures, then it would have been more interesting.
Lily: Eh close but not quite. There was no physical violence at least, I think there is enough in the show of that xd haha Nah, but she DID have a very...strained relationship with ONE of her parents ;) BUT Greed gets to meet ONE of her parents BEFORE he marries her! :D I'll write a extra chapter about that too!
Penguin20: Really? Cool! I always wanted to learn how to play piano! Not to mention the guitar and the violin! Oh god such beautiful instruments! :3
Daughterofapollo12345: (rubs chin) Hmm, interesting theories. Well, let's just say there's a little bit of truth in each one. ;) I can only say that at one point (separate chapter about it later) Greed will meet ONE of her parents (either mom or dad, but I'm not telling who! ;) and that was the time he found out about her family background.
Tomato: Hi there! :) haha thanks for reading my story and for reviewing! Yeah I know, Lust is the second oldest and Greed (I think) the third oldest of the Homunculi but I switched their roles (with Greed being second oldest). If you're looking for a few chapters about the Homunculi check out: Chap. 3 "The many faces of Greed", Chap. 5 "Sins vs Virtues", Chap. 8 "What Makes us Human", Chap. 9 "Envy Inside Us All", Chap. 12... and so on, just to name a few. Hope you enjoy reading! :)
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Edward Elric stood in front of the simple grave, scanning it's blank surface. Black army boots stood just short of the disturbed earth before the tomb, the dark grey clouds above slowly moving forward, as if rain was threatening to come.
The young boy clenched his fists, gritting his teeth and grieving for the deceased soldier.
He whispered to the tomb, "I don't know who you are..." his fists shook, "But I...I saw your face! And I'll never forget it!" he took a moment to collect himself, his emotions before he lifted his head slightly. His sad golden eyes held a thin layer of anger, "Why did you do it huh?! Why would you sacrifice yourself to protect some runt like me?! You didn't even know me! You just..." Ed bit his lip, "You just...threw yourself in the way...you had no idea with whom you were dealing with!" Ed growled, feeling despair well up inside of him.
He snarled at the grave, "That had been a Homunculus you fool! I could have blocked it with my automail! Or Mustang would have fried them or...or something! We could have done something! I didn't want you to jump in and take the blow! How stupid can you get?! Dying for some kid you didn't know?! What about your kid back home?! Don't you care what will happen to your wife and child?!" Ed stomped his foot against the moist ground hard, fists violently shaking.
And he fell to his knees, punching the ground.
"I never wanted people to sacrifice themselves for us! It was supposed to be just me and Al finding our bodies! I knew we would get injured but I never wanted anyone to sacrifice themselves for us! Much less people that actually had family back home! You had something to go back home for! And you threw it all away! Because of what?! Protecting some unimportant runt like me?!" Ed punched the ground again, sobbing hard, "You idiot! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
Ed's forehead touched the earth, his whole body shaking as he cried before the tomb stone.
"I remembered your face and your eyes! I won't forget you damn it! I'll come and visit your grave! I promise! I don't know you but I'll place fresh flowers on your grave! And clean it too!" Ed trembled, his throat hurting slightly from the shouting he just did.
He couldn't believe it.
Scar had just slipped away from their hands again and when Ed had wanted to give chase, Lust had just come out of nowhere and wanted to attack Ed with her long nails. He had tried defending himself with his arm, since his automail one was destroyed to bits by Scar.
But he had never felt the pain of her assault. They never reached him. Instead he had felt warm droplets of something falling onto his exposed hand and cheek.
When he had looked up, there had been a man, a soldier, standing above him. He had his arms crisscrossed in front of him, his stance defensive. Lust's nails pierced his abdomen, thigh, heart and arm.
The man had slowly turned his head, as much as he could despite the pain and had looked behind himself at Ed to ensure he was unscathed. Edward's eyes had been wide open in horror, his body frozen stiff in fear.
"A-are you...a-alright?" the man's deep voice sounded strained, full of pain, but he still smiled at Ed, blood trickling from the side of his mouth.
Ed didn't say anything for a few moments, too shocked to speak, but when Lust retracted her nails with a mocking snort, blood seeped from the soldier's wounds to the earth and his eyes, the color of the sky, glazed over before he hit the ground.
Only a few minutes passed before Mustang and Hawkeye had arrived and Lust vanished from the scene. Riza had knelt down to Ed to see if he was alright and when she followed his line of sight and saw the dead soldier on the ground, she knew what had happened.
Roy's gaze was sad as he gazed upon the dead body, dark knowing eyes moving to look at Edward's shell shocked state.
Before the funeral of the dead, unknown soldier, Mustang knew what and how Ed would have been feeling and experiencing. In Mustang's long line of duties he had to fulfill for the military, participating in the Ishval War had been one of them.
He had killed, a lot, and he had been saved by an Ishvalan, who had died right before his eyes, by none other than Kimblee's hand.
Mustang had never forgiven the Alchemist for what he had done and he had tried making a sorry attempt at a small grave for the brave soul that saved his life, but Kimblee had interrupted his mourning by stepping on the makeshift grave.
The words Kimblee had uttered then were forever burned in his mind, "Mourning for an Ishvalan? Sobbing like a child? You make me sick Mustang, the moment you donned that uniform, things like this were expected from you on a daily basis. You were expected to kill, even innocents, blood is blood, no matter innocent or not. And now you're mourning over the death of somebody you don't even know? How pathetic," Kimblee had walked away then, his cold blue eyes had gazed at Mustang's form like he had been looking down on an insect.
Hughes had sharply critized the alchemist, but Kimblee had ignored him. A few days later, Riza had done the same. She had buried a dead Ishvalan child. Thankfully, Kimblee hadn't been around, for if he had said something to her, Mustang was sure he would have burned him to death on the spot.
They each carried the sins of the past with them, sins and scars only a soldier knew and carried freely. What Kimblee had said was true; the moment soldiers donned their uniforms they were expected to kill, whether they wanted to or not.
But he was wrong about whose blood was spilled, it did matter whether or not it was innocent blood or the blood of a murderer. It did matter whether it was the blood of a family man that had tried protecting his wife and child or the blood of a heartless mass murderer with no remorse for his actions or any regard toward life.
At least, Mustang liked to think so.
Quietly he had watched Ed mourn over the dead, unknown soldier a respectable distance away, until he decided the boy had enough.
He quietly approached from his leaned stance against a tree, he kneeled down and placed a comforting hand on the boy's shaking shoulders. The sudden weight of his hand startled Ed out of his crying, causing him to furiously wipe at his tears with his sleeve.
Mustang smiled a small smile, looking at the tombstone, "Whoever he was, he had been an honorable man. If we find his family, I'm sure they would be proud of him don't you think? The pain of losing somebody is great, but knowing their loved one had done one last good deed before he passed away dampens the sorrow." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts, "You should remember him, if only his face and learn from the mistakes of the past. If you protect someone, anyone, try not to get killed." He looked meaningfully down at the youth, before he patted his head once and stood up.
Roy bowed his head in respect before he donned his hat and walked away.
He thought of the Ishval War, he thought of Kimblee and the Ishvalan that had saved his life so long ago.
And he thought of the unknown soldier that had protected the man Edward would grow out to be one day, a man, Mustang knew, who would try to help anywhere he could and make sure the mistakes of the past would not repeat themselves.
The end! I hope you all enjoyed it! The feel . What do you want the next one shot to be about?