Here it is the last chapter in my current story. I hoped you've enjoyed this story and will enjoy my next one whenever I get around to writing it. I'm grateful to all those who read and reviewed.
Winry was emotionally and physically drained from her travels, wanting only to see the Fuhrer so she can go home. Ed, Al, and Lust don't say anything, though their hearts are pumping a little faster (In Al and Lust's case it's just an expression of course) as they realize their own desires will soon be granted. They walked through all the night and were in sight of Central as the sun was coming up.
"There it is." Ed said.
"Central City." Lust said.
"Come on, let's go." Al said.
Winry nodded listlessly and they all approached the gates of Central. Ed knocked on the door and the little window opened again to reveal Havoc.
"Yeah, what is it?"
His eyes widened as he saw Winry hold out the broom.
"Holy crap! You're alive!"
"Don't sound so surprised!" Ed yelled at him.
"Hey, don't yell at me!" Havoc said, holding up his hands. "This wouldn't have been the first time the Fuhrer sent someone to their death. He always sets up impossible tasks for people so they'll give up or die and he won't have to grant their requests."
This roused Winry from her lethargic state. She frowned and braced her feet. She reached through the little hole and dragged Havoc's head out of it.
"Listen you! I don't belong in this world and I want to go home! I don't want to deal with you, I don't want to think about what I've been through, and I want these damn shoes off my feet!"
Everyone stared at her in surprise and slight fear. Havoc quickly opened the small area of the gate and they walked to the Fuhrer's office. Havoc, wanting to get rid of Winry as soon as possible, practically ran to the doors of HQ. When they got there he said, "Same as last time, just walk straight ahead, take the elevator to the top and walk straight ahead to the Fuhrer's office. See ya!"
And he was gone. Winry and her group moved swiftly to the elevator and rode it to the top. They walked down the hall and Winry threw the door open. The Fuhrer and Roy both looked up in surprise as Winry stalked in followed by Ed, then Al, and finally Lust. She marched up to the Fuhrer's desk and tossed the broom onto the Fuhrer's desk.
"There! Proof that I killed the Dante the Wicked Alchemist of the West!"
The Fuhrer slowly turned the broom over and looked up at Roy.
"Close the door if you'd be so kind Col."
Roy closed the door and they all heard an ominous click.
"Why did you lock the door?" Al asked nervously.
The Fuhrer didn't answer. He slowly stood up and walked with the broom to the fireplace. He tossed it in and watched it burn.
"So she really is dead." He muttered when he saw the broom burning until there was nothing left. The Fuhrer turned to face them again and said, "I don't know how you managed to kill Dante, but I'm not going to give you your requests."
"What!?!?!?" Winry screamed at him. She couldn't, no, she wouldn't, deal with this anymore! She walked over the Fuhrer and grabbed his lapels, dragging him closer to her. "You said if I killed Dante you would help me! You're going to send me home, right now!"
The Fuhrer's face changed from that of a kindly father figure to a cold, shrewd look. He grabbed Winry's arm and shoved her to the ground. He stood over her and slammed his boot onto her wrist, grinding it into the carpet.
"How dare a filthy human touch me!"
Winry screamed in pain as she felt her wrist break. The pain was enormous! She felt like she was blacking out! Suddenly, she felt the Fuhrer's weight remove itself from her wrist. She quickly sat up, moving away from the insane man. Ed had tackled him to the ground and was wrestling with him. The Fuhrer managed to free one of his arms and grab his sword, plunging it into Ed's side. Ed stopped struggling, allowing the Fuhrer to kick his body off of him and stand. Ed's wound wasn't fatal, but if he didn't get medical attention quickly he would bleed to death. The Fuhrer, bloody sword in hand, turned to Lust and Al.
"Don't even think of trying to help your friends. If you move so much as an inch I'll kill them both."
He turned to face Lust totally now. Lust stared defiantly back.
"You traitor." He whispered. "How could you, after all this time, betray us?"
Lust hesitated but said, "I don't know what you're talking about."
The Fuhrer's lip curled. He pointed his sword at her and said, "Those claws, those wings, are you not a Sin?"
"Dante created me, but I betrayed her! She created us Sins with a half life! I refuse to commit acts of atrocity anymore!"
"You've been around humans for far too long." He replied.
"What does it matter to you? My affairs are none of your business."
He smiled and said, "Oh, but it is my business. Have you ever seen all seven of Dante's Sins in one place?"
Lust was about to say of course but stopped herself. Now that she thought on it she'd only seen Wrath, Gluttony, Envy, and Greed. She'd never questioned why they were known as the Seven Sins when only five were in evidence. Sloth had been explained as being synonymous with Etnad, but what of the seventh? Then it hit her.
"No…you couldn't be."
"But I am. I am the Dante's Seventh Sin, Pride!"
"How can that be?" Alphonse interjected. "All of the Sins have wings and claws! Besides, you've only recently arrived in Amestris while Dante's been here for over four hundred years!"
"Don't be stupid boy!" Pride snarled at him. "Do you really think that was the only way Dante could've created us? I was made differently for use in an emergency. I was to masquerade as a traveler from a distant land and seize control as the next Fuhrer. Once my predecessor died, leaving no heir, there was a political vacuum. I filled that void and, under Dante's orders, unified all of Amestris. The West was run by Dante, the East by one of our own number, the South is a bog, not worth controlling, and Dante appointed a consul of some sort in the North. For over fifty years this system worked with Dante unofficially ruling all of Amestris. But then something went wrong. You, little girl," he turned to face Winry. "You ruined everything. Once you killed Sloth, you threw the system out of balance. I knew we'd have to get rid of you, so I sent you to Dante. Since you're still alive, I assume Dante is dead. All of our plans are for nothing! So I'll kill you and travel to the West to retrieve the book of Alchemy Dante had in her possession. It's rightfully mine anyway."
Winry slowly stood up. If this madman got his hands on that book, all of Amestris would be in danger. This county had suffered enough. Somehow, she would end it here! Pride turned to face her and said, "What are you doing? Do you really think you can defeat me?"
"I don't know. But if I don't try, this country will just continue to suffer!"
Pride turned his sword and said, "Then try."
He charged toward her and barely missed, stabbing his sword into the wall. The only reason he'd missed was because Ed had grabbed his foot as he'd passed by, tripping him and causing his aim to go awry. Winry frantically tried to think of a way to save herself, but was at a loss. She was about to lose all hope as Pride advanced on her, when someone stood in front of her. She looked up and saw Roy slipping on a glove. Pride looked surprised, stopping for a moment. Then his face hardened and he continued advancing on Roy.
No one was sure what really happened next. At one point fire was exploding in all directions and Pride was dodging every blast, disrupting air currents and cutting Roy. Then a strange presence filled the air and Pride's movements slowed, his actions became sluggish, and Roy was able to burn him in his fire. Winry and her group watched as Pride slowly melted away into nothing before their very eyes. When it was over, Roy reached into the goopy mess and pulled out a small red object. He placed it on the stub of his tongue and small sparks danced over the gash until the two pieces joined again. He coughed slightly then sat behind the Fuhrer's desk.
"Hello. My name is Roy Mustang and I'm the true Fuhrer."
Everyone was speechless at this announcement. So much had happened in the last few minutes it was hard to process this.
"Allow me to explain. I was actually set to be the next heir, but was ambushed by Dante and Pride. They cut out my tongue using Alchemy so I couldn't defend myself when they took over. Pride said no one had been chosen as successor and so I was shunted over into Col., basically his advisor. I tried to warn you before you left to fight Dante, but I guess I wasn't explicit enough. Anyway, thank you for setting things right. Now, I believe you all have some requests?"
"Please, can you help Ed first?" Winry said. "He's badly hurt."
Roy smiled and nodded. He snapped his fingers and more healing fire leapt from the air and over Ed's wounds. In minutes, they were closing and Ed slowly sat up.
"Ugh…what happened?"
Winry quickly filled him in before turning back to Roy.
"So who's first?" he asked.
"I'll go." Al said, approaching Roy. "When I was a little boy, Etnad used Alchemy to curse me into this form. My soul is anchored to this armor. My request is to be returned to my true body."
Roy stood up and knocked on Al's chest plate. "I'll need your original body to do that. Do you mind if I open the armor up?"
"I'm sorry, but you can't. Etnad sealed it shut."
"That's no problem." Roy snapped his fingers and a few small explosions was all it took to open Al's chest plate. To everyone's astonishment, Al's body fell out.
"What the-?" Ed said. "How--?"
"Etnad was a Sin and couldn't perform Alchemy well, so she needed a place close by to store your brother's body. Pretty ingenious though. Ah, I can see the blood seal now. Okay, this should be easy enough."
He snapped his fingers and tongues of flame leaped from his fingers and over the blood seal. It traced the shape and quickly removed it. The burning emblem then placed itself on Al's body's forehead. It slowly sunk in and a few minutes after, Al opened his eyes. He stood up and looked himself over.
"I'm normal again!" He yelled out throwing his arms up.
He ran over to Ed and nearly knocked him over as he hugged him. "It's so good to feel again brother!"
Ed hugged him back and said, "It's good to see you happy again Al."
Al grinned at him then turned to Lust. "You go next."
Lust nodded and said, "I was born a Sin, through no fault of my own. I just want a full life and not this cursed half life."
Roy nodded and said, "You were human once, but in order to turn you into a Sin, Dante had to commit the Sin you're named for and sacrifice a human. So all I have to do is remove the mark of your curse and you'll go back to normal. Ah, there it is."
He snapped his fingers and the same tongues of flame reached out and traced her Ouroboros tattoo, effectively removing it. Lust's body was suddenly engulfed in light, blinding everyone nearby. The light disappeared and everyone looked in amazement at Lust. Her hair was lighter, and her skin was dark like the Ishbalens. Her eyes were no longer violet and cat like, but soft and human. She touched her chest over her heart and closed her eyes. She smiled as she felt it beat.
"Thank you. Words cannot describe my gratitude." She turned to Ed. "Can you forgive me for what I did to this world?"
Ed blushed and said, "It wasn't your fault. You were being manipulated."
Lust smiled and said, "Then you go next Ed."
Ed turned to Roy and said, "All I want…"
"Is to become taller?" Roy interrupted, smirk on his face.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL HE NEEDS A LADDER TO REACH A TODDLER'S TOE YOU JERK!!!!"
"Whoah, take it easy kid. It was just a joke."
Ed calmed down and said, "I've been having strange dreams all my life and I've always had a feeling I was missing something. I want to know what that is."
Roy looked him straight in the eyes and said, "You're an Alchemist of course. I can't believe you never noticed it. I wouldn't try anything though until you've been trained."
Ed looked shocked and said, "How can I be and Alchemist?"
"It's something you're born with kid, you can't do anything about it." Roy said. "It looks like I'm going to have to train you myself though, and that'll be a pain."
He turned to Winry and said, "What about you?"
"I just want to go home." Winry said.
Roy sighed and sat back down in his chair behind his desk.
"I have to admit I've never had it so easy granting requests. Where in Amestris do you live?"
"I don't live in this Amestris. My house was picked up in a cyclone and dropped here. I come from a parallel Amestris."
Roy instantly lost his relaxed pose and leaned forward.
"Well, if that's the case, then I can't help you. I'm sorry."
He turned in his chair to look out a window. Winry felt her heart sink, tears welling up in her eyes. She'd never go home, she'd never see her Ed or Al ever again, she'd never see her grandmother, or sleep in her own bed, or work on her own automail inventions ever again. Ed, seeing the anguish in Winry's eyes, ran over to Roy's chair, spun it around and started yelling at him, "What do you mean you can't help her? What the hell's your problem? Can't you see how hurt she is? She doesn't belong here; she belongs in her own world with her own family and friends!"
Roy pushed Ed aside and stood up. He walked over to Winry and carefully picked up her right hand. Winry gasped as pain flared in her wrist. In all the excitement and worry about Ed she'd totally forgotten about her own broken wrist. Roy mended it with a snap of his fingers and sighed, "Listen, it's not like I don't want to help you. I'm grateful for everything you've done, but you don't understand. It's beyond my power to send her to her own world. It would take an Alchemist of legendary power to do something like that."
Winry suddenly had an idea.
"Wait! These shoes are the Philosopher's Stone! Surely that would help you in your transmutation!"
Roy looked surprised at this news. He knelt down and felt the shoes, as though feeling for something. After a few minutes he shook his head and stood up.
"No. Not even the Philosopher's Stone would be enough to help me."
"Well then it looks like I'm going to have to step in."
Everyone in the room turned and looked at the door as it slowly closed behind a mysterious cloaked figure.
"It's you!" Al said pointing. "You were the one who helped my brother and Winry in the poppy field!"
The cloaked figure lowered her hood and revealed who she really was.
"Izumi!" Winry exclaimed in surprise.
Izumi smiled and nodded, walking toward Winry.
"It's good to see you survived your ordeal Winry. I'm sorry you were sent on that terrible mission, but it was necessary. Not even Pride or Dante knew I was working behind the scenes. I have to admit you were an X in the equation. No one had seen you coming but Dante tried to take advantage of it by claiming the shoes. Luckily I had seen your house falling and I came rushing to the scene. When I saw it was just a defenseless girl I was worried. I didn't have much time and I knew Dante would be coming soon, so I devised a plan. You would wear the shoes to Central and I would talk to you after you spoke with the Fuhrer. I couldn't talk to you after you left, you moved too fast and I wasn't prepared. But from the gossip of the townsfolk I learned you were traveling to the West to confront Dante. I knew then that I had to let you go. If I stopped you, who would take care of Dante? I didn't trust myself to do it anymore, not after all the times Dante has slipped away from me in the past. But everything turned out fine in the end. You're alive, the shoes are safe, and Amestris is ripe for reform at last."
Roy smiled at her and said, "Well, well. I meet the famed Alchemist of the North herself. Everyone said you'd died a long time ago and were replaced by the Fuhrer's Consul."
Izumi turned to Roy and said, "No, that was I lie I devised myself to keep control of the North away from Dante."
"But you said you didn't know Alchemy!" Winry protested.
"I said that so no one would suspect my true identity." She turned back to Roy and said, "We have much to discuss on the running of this country. First and foremost, I want to train these two to take control of the East and West." She indicated Ed and Al.
"WHAT?!?!?" They both shouted out.
"But I'm not an Alchemist!" Al cried.
"And how the hell am I supposed to run a quarter of the country?!?" Ed asked.
"SHUT UP!!! I'M GOING TO TEACH YOU HOW TO DO IT SO JUST BE STILL!!!"
Ed and Al both recoiled, and murmured, "Yes ma'am."
Izumi turned back to Winry and said, "Now I'll send you home Winry."
Winry's face lit up and she said, "Really? You know how?"
Izumi nodded and said, "Now that Dante's gone, I can remove the transmutation on the shoes and send you home. It'll only take a moment, so when you're ready to leave just say so."
Winry nodded and ran over to Ed and Al. She hugged them both and said, "I'll miss you both."
They both hugged her back and said their good-byes. Winry then turned to Izumi and said, "I'm ready to go!"
Izumi clapped her hands and placed them on the shoes. With a flash of red light the shoes disappeared off Winry's feet and reappeared in Izumi's hands. She set them on the ground in front of Winry and clapped her hands again, placing them on the shoes. A surge of red electricity discharged from the shoes and engulfed Winry and Den. Winry closed her eyes as she felt herself being lifted off the ground. She began to spin faster and faster, until she felt sick with it. She didn't dare open her eyes for fear of what she would see. Finally, the spinning started to slow down and she opened her eyes. She gasped in delight at what she saw. All of Resembool was laid out before her like a toy countryside. She was slowly lowered to the ground directly outside her house which was back in its original place. Izumi must've sent that along as well. Winry ran towards the door and stopped as she saw a piece of the ground lift up to reveal Ed and Al, exiting the storm cellar. Their eyes met and they just stared for a few minutes. Finally Winry gave a shout of joy and ran forward, taking Ed in a power hug.
"I'm so happy to see you two!" She sobbed.
Ed, looking a little freaked out, patted Winry on the back and said, "We were worried about you too Winry!"
"You'll never believe what I've been through!" she said.
"We're just glad you found a shelter from the cyclone." Al replied.
Winry was about to say no, and explain her adventure but stopped. Would Ed and Al even believe her? It was a pretty wild story and not altogether believable. So she just smiled and said, "I'm glad too. I'm going to get changed and start working on your arm again Ed right away."
She turned to leave, but was stopped by Ed.
"Before you start working again, why don't we go do something together? Like we used too?"
Winry's face broke out in a grin and she said, "Really?"
Ed nodded and Winry squealed in joy, grabbed Ed's and Al's arm and dragging them toward the countryside.
The End
Whew, that chapter took longer than I thought it would. I've already got plans for my next story. It's another parody, because I don't have any original ideas that are fully fleshed out at this time. I've got about three or four different plot ideas but none of them are very good right now. I need some more time to work on them, so another parody will come first. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed this story, because I enjoyed writing it! Review please, but don't flame and as always, keep a look out for my next story.