Ch. 22- The Broken.

"A wise decision, Edward."

Hohenheim released Ed from his grip, dropping Ed to the ground.

"You promise if I do this that you won't lay a finger on Roy."

Ed wouldn't agree to anything unless he knew that Roy would be safe.

"Yes, I promise."

"Fine." Ed walked over to the middle of the array once more.

"What the hell do I have to do exactly?"

"I need you to open the gate."

"How?"

Hohenheim gave a twisted smile.

"That's quite simple really, my son."

He walked towards Ed, placing his body behind his sons.

"What are yo-Nnngg" Ed fell over.

"With a little of your blood, blood that's been connected with the gate before, that is how we'll get it to open." He laughed, as he twisted a blade within Ed's abdomen causing Ed's blood to flood the octagon in the middle of the array.

"That's what this strange shape was for...th-the door itself..." Ed pulled himself to his knees.

"Don't you think your done yet, You need to trace the inside shape of the array with your blood, in order to seal it completely, after that you need to move outside of the array and allow me to move into the gate." Hohenheim stepped into the octagon.

Ed didn't say anything, he just did as his father instructed. He knew the sooner he finished this, the sooner he and Roy could escape.

He outlined the inner part of the array with his blood, making sure not to miss a single spot.

"Good! Now Edward, back out of the array, and begin the transmutation!"

Ed did as he was told, backing off to the outskirts of the large array, he looked at it once more.

He couldn't believe he was doing this again.

'It's to protect Roy." He repeated to himself

"It's for Roy and Alphonse."

"Now Edward! DO IT NOW!" Hohenheim shouted.

At the sound of Hohenheim's shout, Ed clapped his hands together and placed them along the edges of the array.

Within seconds the outside of the array turned an incandescent blue. Then the blue light extended into the middle, following the trail of Ed's blood, towards the middle where Hohenheim was standing.

Ed stood up, and took a step backwards.

"Yes! YES!" Hohenheim yelled.

All of a sudden, from under Hohenheim a bright blue circle lit up.

A mist rose, engulfing Hohenheim's entire body.

"Yes! The gate's about to open!"

The ground shook, when a giant black door rose from the ground.

"It's-It's just like when...Al..and I did..." Ed's eyes stared, as he recognized the same door he and Al had seen all those years ago.

A blue line of light shone through the black door as it split apart.

"It's Opening!"

Ed's father placed his hand on the door, and in a matter of seconds, it was completely open and the man had been sucked in.

"Edward, we're not done yet! You need to come near the door and do one last transmutation!"

"What! But!"

"Just do it!"

Ed walked over and again, clapped his hands together, and placed them on the part of the array that was directly under the door.

As he did this, Hohenheim's body completely went into the blackness within the door, and as the second transmutation was completed, and Ed lifted his hands, the blue light flowed into the doorway, illuminating the darkness with it's bright light.

Ed heard a scream, and ran too the door, it had stopped shutting leaving a crack for Ed to gaze through.

He could only see blue. But he kept hearing Hohenheim's screaming.

"Why do I have this...feeling..." Ed had a strange urge to go into the gate.

He pulled the doors apart and without thinking about it, jumped into the light.

When he entered beyond the doors, he still could only see the blue.

Then, as he moved forward he came to see Hohenheim, just standing there.

"Hohenheim! What's going on!"

The man didn't react, as if he couldn't hear Ed.

Ed ran forward, trying to get closer, but he couldn't reach his father.

Suddenly black hands wrapped around Hohenheims' body, streaming along his legs, up his torso and around both his arms.

"Yes! That's Right! Take this decaying cage, and allow my soul to enter a new body!"

He pressed his hands together, and then placed them on his chest.

It lit up with the same blue light that had surrounded them.

The hands completely covered Hohenheim's body, and then began to unravel it, just as Al's body had done when they tried to bring back their mother.

In less than a minute, Hohenheim's body was gone.

But Ed could still hear the man's laughter...where was he?

"Edward! I see! So you came to see me get my new body! Foolish Boy! Now you won't be able to escape from the doorway!" All around, the man's voice echoed.

"I don't understand! Where are you! Aren't you supposed to get a new body? Where is it!"

"My soul is all that remains at the moment, the body is being formed, over where I once stood"

Ed turned to where he'd seen Hohenheim standing before.

White orbs of light were twirling around each-other, and suddenly Ed saw the forming of two feet, closely followed by legs, a body, arms. This was a young body, it was around Ed's size.

Then finally came the face.

Ed's eyes widened, with horror.

He heard Holhenheim laughing all around him.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU SAID YOU'D BE GETTING AN UNUSED BODY, A BRAND NEW ONE!...THATS...thats..."

"Fool! This body is basically unused! It's been kept within this light for years! Untouched by another soul, and now...and NOW IT'S MINE!"

Ed looked towards the newly formed body.

"No! It' not yours! It's...It's..IT'S AL'S! I WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT!"

Ed ran forward, he didn't know what he was doing, his mind and body were acting on their own.

He swiped his finger across the wound his father had inflicted earlier.

He stood in front of Al's body, and drew a symbol on the bodies chest with his own blood, the same symbol he'd used to bond Al's soul to the armor.

"I won't allow him to take what's yours Al" He finished the seal and clapped his hands together, quickly placing them over the blood seal.

"Now! Follow this seal back to it's twin! Back to your original Soul!"

Ed felt a warmth under his hands, as Al's body was surrounded by the ever familiar blue light.

It orbed around the body, before it suddenly lifted it up and dematerialized it.

"Al..." Ed fell to his knees. Whatever He'd done, he knew it was good.

"You Brat! How dare you do that to my body!" A voice surrounded Ed

A darker light surrounded his legs, pulling him towards the ground.

Everything went black.

"Nnng...Ughh...wha..."

Roy felt a shooting pain down his back.

He slowly opened his eyes.

"What the hell...just happened."

He put his hand to his head, and felt blood.

The last thing he'd remembered is being catapulted against the wall by the shadowed man...

And hearing Ed scream his name...Ed..

"Ed!" Where was Ed, Roy couldn't hear his voice.

"ED! WHERE ARE YOU!" He quickly opened his eyes and saw that there was no-one in the room.

He looked towards the array, and saw a pile of clothing and along with a trail of blood.

"Oh...no..please don't let that be..." He fumbled to get up.

Quickly removing the pieces of stone that covered his body.

He pulled himself to his knees, then was able to get himself to stand.

"No."

"No."

"No."

He wanted to run as fast as he could, but his legs were seriously hurt.

He could barely stand. He walked as fast as he could.

As Roy got closer he could see a thin line of blue light, as if there were a cracked doorway in the middle of the array.

"No." He repeated once again.

"Ed...you didn't...you couldn't have..."

He got to the pile of clothes and saw that there were a pair of leather pants, a vest...and a red coat.

They were, without a doubt Ed's. And they were splattered with blood.

"Ed...no...no...why...why did you...do it...Why didn't you RUN!"

Roy dropped to his knees and picked up the clothing, and buried his head into them.

"Why didn't you run...you Idiot! You moron! Why! You should have left me here! You should have just ran away..."

He slammed his fists on the ground.

"No"

"No."

"No."

He started to yell the word louder and louder. "NO!"

The usually controlled colonel began to weep.

"I couldn't protect you, yet again...NO! Ed...I'm sorry...I couldn't keep my promise..."

As Roy buried his face into Edward's blood stained clothes.

He didn't notice the blue orb's of light leak out from the middle of the array.

The floated passed him, and went through the ceiling.

He didn't see them.

All he could think about...was..Ed...