Sunset. The beach. Where have I seen this before?

I was sitting not too far off from Roy and Wrath (who were on the beach where I had been with Roy just last night), concealed behind a large-ish rock.

I found it hard to breath, watching the happy duo talking and laughing. Half of me was devastated—as to be expected. Roy had completely forgotten about me, believed that Wrath had saved him…I was nothing now. And half of me was fucking pissed. How could he just abandon me like that? I can't believe I cared so much about such an asshole!

For the umpteenth time, I bit back a sob. I would not cry. I would wait here, and when Dante came for me, I would be able to see Roy one last time before my servitude began.

I heard footsteps behind me, and whirled around to see—

"Winry!?" I whisper-shouted. She was just about the last person I expected to see. "I thought you never left your little island?"

"I don't," she whispered back, giggling as was her wont. "But just for you, I did!"

I started to ask her to explain, when she darted out of the cover and headed for Roy.

Dammit! I hesitated, then followed her slowly. As much as I hated having to get closer to Roy and Wrath, I couldn't let Winry do anything stupid.

"Hey," she said, "Roy Mustang, right?"

Roy turned, startled. "Yes," he said slowly, taking in Winry and my embarrassed form behind her. "What do you need?"

"Winry, don't—" she slapped a palm over my mouth.

"I'm here to tell you the truth," she declared. "That…thing," she pointed at Wrath, who looked outraged, "didn't save you. Edward did."

I thought I was going to boil under the force of Roy's scrutiny. "I was saved by a merman," he explained slowly.

"Does that look like a merman to you?" Winry asked, again directing her gaze to Wrath.

He piped up to defend himself. "I changed myself. I used to be a merman."

"Oh, fuck you!" I got the words out, pulling Winry's hand from my face. "You were—" and my voice broke off, Dante evidently having blocked that explanation too.

"What Ed means to say," Winry took over for me, "is that Wrath here was created. See, Ed's a merman…or he was until he met you."

At this, Wrath jumped up, about to go after Winry, but I tackled him to the ground, clapping my hands once and sealing him under the sand. Only his head was visible, though his mouth was covered.

"He had this Sea Witch change him because—" it was my turn to cover Winry's mouth. I caught her eye, shaking my head hard. She pulled my hand off. "Because he loves you."

I looked away from Roy's gaze, face burning. I hadn't wanted him to find out, not like that. Winry went on, either not noticing or not caring about the situation she had just created. "He can't talk about it, because of the terms of his contract. But he was the one who saved you."

Roy looked at me skeptically. I raised my arms, untying my hair. I walked over to him, and smiled at him from above.

"Oh!" He let out a tiny gasp of surprise, and I was gratified to see recognition in his eyes.

Just then, I cried out, my legs suddenly burning, fusing together. Wrath let out a similar yell, as his arm—my arm—was ripped off and returned to me. My automail arm dropped to the ground with a dull thunk. I myself toppled over, and into Roy's lap.

In less than a minute, I lay there, a merman once more. I looked up at Roy helplessly, found I was now able to speak. That, at least, was a good thing. "And I only had three days to make you love me," I whispered.

"Or what?" he said, eyes wide. He was much less surprised to see my tail than I would have expected.

"Or I belong to Dante—the Sea Witch."

Roy moved over to me, hugging me fiercely. "Ed…" he whispered, face buried in my hair, "I'm so sorry I didn't see it sooner."

My anger at him dissipated—after all, how was he to know that I had saved him when I couldn't even speak about it?

Just then, the water a short way out began to bubble. A few tears trickled out, unchecked, as I prepared myself for Dante's arrival.

But it wasn't Dante.

It was Hohenheim.

How…? Oh. Alphonse was swimming silently beside Hohenheim. He must have thought our father would help…

He spoke before I could stop him. "Edward, how could you go to Dante? Again? You know better!"

Again, my anger flared. "Because of Roy! You wouldn't let me go to him…what was I supposed to do?"

I was surprised by the amount of pain on Hohenheim's face. "I was wrong, Edward…"

Unfortunately, that was as much of an apology as I was going to get, because at that moment, Dante did appear.

"No!" Roy gasped, clinging to me. In any other circumstance, I would have been celebrating how close I was to him. In this case, I was just happy to be hugged before I had to go.

"Edward Elric!" the Sea Witch yelled, her face contorted with a sick kind of glee. "You are mine!"

"Dante!" Hoehenheim shouted. "I have my Stone. Take it instead."

The entire scene was quiet for a moment as she considered. Something clicked in my brain: why Hohenheim was so powerful, how he could do alchemy without a transmutation circle, how he never seemed to age…

He had a Philosopher's Stone!"

Then Dante pushed herself forward, snatching a necklace (in which a red jewel glinted) from Hohenheim, who offered no resistance. Immediately, she looked healthier, and seemed to grow bigger, while Hohenheim hunched over, aging at a rapid pace.

"Oh, by the way, Hohenheim…" Dante cooed. "I never said 'yes.'"

I felt a wrenching in my gut, and was torn away from Roy. I had to give him credit; in the face of merpeople, a Sea Witch, and all the other shit I'd put in front of him, he was calm and concentrated. He held my arms, nails digging into my skin with the effort of keeping me with him.

But he was only human—how was he supposed to defeat Dante?

I found myself pulled back, off the beach, while Roy fell to his face in the sand. I crashed into the water just in front of Dante, and was unable to move more than a few inches.

I looked around, taking in the hopeless faces of my family and Roy—along with the blank look of shock on Winry's face, and the mirth in Wrath's eyes, still buried though he was in sand. Then I looked upward, to see Dante staring down at me with triumph in her eyes.

That was it, then.

I belonged to Dante.