~A word from Moi~-Well only a few more chapters to go and then this story c'est fini! (is finished XD) I enjoyed writing this chapter, and the last few are going to probably be my favorites, get ready for some major fluff after this one XD...thanks for reading 3
Ch. 23- Finally.
Roy had been lying on the ground for a while.
He was still clenching Ed's clothes tightly in his hand.
"Ed..."
He thought Ed was gone.
That He'd failed.
"Why couldn't I protect you..."
He lifted his head and looked at the clothes in his hands.
"This blood...its definitely Ed's...but how..."
He didn't remember Ed being injured before he had gotten knocked out, so how and why did he start bleeding.
He saw something in the corner of his eyes, a blade.
"I see...So who-ever that man was, stabbed Ed...but why..."
He looked around and saw the red stain along the array's design.
"So Ed used his blood to trace the array?...As a...way to open the gate! That's the only reason to have an array similar to the one for human transmutation...and..." He looked over and saw the trail of blood leading from where Ed's clothes had been, back to the knife.
"So Ed, walked from over there to here...and the trail suddenly stops...in the middle of this array, as if Ed just...disappeared."
Roy stood up, and dropped Ed's clothes.
"If his clothes are gone...then that means...he went into the gate...damn it!"
He clenched his fists.
"Enough crying, Ed! you hold on I'm coming!"
It was dark.
"What the hell is going on!" Ed spun his body in a circles, looking around him. Everything had gone black.
"Edward, your going to pay for taking my body away!" It was Hohenheim's voice. Deep and filled with an untamed rage.
"It wasn't your body! It was Al's! There was absolutely no way I was just going to sit around and allow your dirty soul to have it!"
"TELL ME! WHERE DID YOU SEND IT" The voice demanded.
"I have absolutely no clue where AL'S body went, and even if I did, like I'd ever tell you!"
"I understand...so you don't know where MY body went, well then I guess I'll just have to acquire another one, won't I?"
"Like Hell, Roy's safe, so there's nothing you can do to me that will make me transmute for you again!"
"Ha, like I need a transmutation to acquire a body now! Do you remember where we are?"
"I'm not stupid! I know we're still in the gate!" Ed thought Hohenheim was going insane, there wasn't anything else with them.
"Old Man! We're all alone in here and there's nothing you can do about it!"
"Yes Edward your exactly correct, you and I are the only ones in here, and lucky for me, that means there's a body for me to use."
"What! Yo-you couldn't possibly mean me?"
"Precisely! I will have to make due with your body for now"
"There's no way in HELL! I'd let you have my body!"
"I don't need your permission, All I have to do is push your soul out, it doesn't take much for a stronger spirit to push out a weaker one."
"What! What the hell do you mean by weaker spirit! You can't just push a soul out of a body!"
"Yes, that's exactly was you can do, how do you think you were able to get Alphonse's soul back? It was pushed out of his body! You fool! You have no idea what can happen in this gate!"
"J-just because I don't understand that doesn't make my spirit or soul weaker than yours! It can't be!"
"Yes Edward! For a soul to be strong you need not only knowledge and courage, but other things as well! Things that a child could never understand!"
"I am not a child! There couldn't possibly be anything that a monster like you posses that I couldn't!"
"Edward, do you remember back in the Inn when I told you that I did love your mother and you boys! I wasn't lying! I did love you! Sure I only loved you for my own purposes, but the feelings are still there! That is what I posses!"
"Your telling me your stronger because you love? You call what you felt love! Using your own family just to be able to get a new body isn't love! It's- It's just cruel! You'' never get my body! Ever! Besides! I do understand Love, far more than you EVER COULD! BECAUSE I LOVE ALPHONSE...MY BROTHER ...AND..AND"
"ENOUGH!" The voice yelled.
Ed suddenly felt an immense pressure on his chest, like something was pushing as hard as it could.
His vision became blurry, and he coughed up blood.
"What are you do-doing to me..." He yelled.
"I am pushing your soul out! Don't worry it only hurts a lot!" The voice laughed hard.
"Ugh...No! I am...I am...NOT WEAKER THAN YOU! I AM STRONG BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT! I LOVE ALPHONSE AS MY LITTLE BROTHER AND..."
Ed closed his eyes and pushed back, with all is might. He screamed.
"AND...I LOVE ROY MUSTANG!"
As he did, a bright white light appeared within the darkness...
"Now, I have to figure out a way to open this damn door, I am going to get him out!"
Roy looked over at the knife that was next to him.
He went over to it and picked it up.
"Well...If it worked for them, It should for me..."
Roy took the blade and cute his arm, causing blood to spill.
"Now I have to re-trace the array.
He followed Ed's original trail of blood with his own and then came to the middle.
"This better damn well work!"
He drew a circle with his blood, at the center of the array, and placed his hand on it.
A bright blue glow appeared below his palm. And a rumbling was heard, followed by door.
It didn't rise up from the ground, but Roy saw the crack of blue light get wider, and the space between the doors got wider.
He knew right away, that this is where Ed had gone through.
"Ed, I'm coming"
He quickly launched himself into the light.
As he entered the door way, he was surrounded by the blue light he'd seen from the outside, but there was nothing else, just blue.
He moved forwards, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ed, or at least something.
There was nothing...until..
"...I LOVE ROY MUSTANG..." He heard Ed's voice.
His eyes widened, and he smiled as he heard Ed's voice in the distance utter these words...
He didn't know why but, he felt like he needed to respond.
"And I love you, Edward Elric!"
Following this statement, he felt something warm pulling at his chest, he was pulled forward quickly until he saw a large darkness in the middle of the sea of light.
"That's where Ed is, isn't it?" He asked himself.
"ED!" He shouted.
He rushed forward, colliding with the darkness, until he was engulfed by a strange white light.
He pushed through the darkness even further, until he could hear Ed...along with another voice...
"Hohenheim! That Bastard! He was the one behind all of this."
He got closer to the voices, until he could feel the heaviness of the darkness fade.
He saw Ed, standing there.
"ED!"
Ed heard a voice call his name...it sounded like...
"Roy! Is that you?"
"Shutup Boy! The colonel couldn't be here, No-one can save you! Now give me your body!"
"NOOOOOO!'
Ed pushed back with as much force as he could.
"Edward! I'm coming!"
Ed opened is eyes, and saw the bright light.
It was Roy!
"Roy! What? How? Wh- Ahhh ugh...Ahhh!" He was pushed back,
"I've got you now Edward!" Hohenheim had almost penetrated Ed's body.
"You Bastard..." Ed fell to his knees.
"That's right my son, give in."
"ED! DON'T LISTEN! WHATEVER HE'S TRYING TO DO TO YOU! RESIST IT! FIGHT BACK!"
"Roy...I...it...hurts..." Ed's vision had blurred, he could only slightly see that Roy was close to him.
He reached his hand out, before passing out.
"Foolish child! Now I can completely overtake your body!" Hohenheim's voice was louder stronger.
"Not If I can do anything! I'll never let you have Ed!"
Roy grabbed Ed's hand before it could fall, passing the white light that surrounded his body to Ed's.
"What! What is this? You don't possibly think that you can st-"
Roy embraced Ed's body, tucking him into his arms.
"Ed's body is his, and his alone." Roy smirked.
The white light surrounding the two expanded.
Hohenheim's voice was heard in this distance, screaming.
"Nooooo-o-oo-o" Until it faded away into the blue light beyond.
"Bastard..."
Roy had guessed that Honhenheim's soul had been taken by the gate, for what reason he wasn't sure.
"Now I have to get you out of here" He looked down at the blond he carried in his arms.
He looked around, and noticed that the light that had surrounded them had disappeared.
"This is one strange place..." He took a step forward.
Suddenly he felt something grip his foot.
Roy looked down, and saw black hands curling around his leg.
"What the hell!"
He pulled his foot away, and started running.
"Great, I get Ed out of one mess and into another.."
He looked back behind him, there was a stream of the black hands following them.
"Damnit... Ed I need you to wake up...now!"
He tossed Ed up a little, trying to wake him up.
Ed flinched, and quickly opened his eyes...
"Nnng, Huh? Roy is that you!"
"Yeah, and I'd like to say we're out of trouble, but we're in a shit load of trouble right now. Look behind us, what the hell are those things"
Ed looked at the things that were chasing them.
"I can't tell you exactly but I do no that they have something to do with taking things into the gate. Roy put me down, I can help."
Roy gently placed Ed down.
"Alright you freaks get ready!"
Ed took the blood from his wound and made sure it covered his hands.
He clapped.
The blood on his hands started to glow a brighter shade of red, Ed waiting until the black hands were close and slammed both his hands on top of them.
With that one blow, the entire group of black hands faded away.
"Nice Job Ed...Now we have to figure out how the hell to get out of here..."
"Yeah, and we better hurry, those things will be back."
Ed and Roy looked at each other, Roy started to say something, but stoped himself.
'I can't get distracted...we have to get out first...' He thought.
Ed saw Roy's confusion and had an idea.
"Roy...I have an Idea...I'm not sure id it'll work...but it's worth a shot."
"Alright, Ed, what is it?"
"Well...I was thinking if the gate opened once when I outlined the array with my blood, then If I made the array in here with my blood shouldn't it open again?"
"Well...That could work, do you remember what it looked like?"
"Yeah...but..."
"What is it?"
Ed put a finger to his temple and closed his eyes.
"The problem is, I don't think the same array that opened the gate will work in here, I mean this place is I guess mirroring our world...so...hmmm"
"So why don't you try drawing the array as if it were a reflection of the one outside the gate?"
"..." Ed was silent for a second, and then quickly opened his eyes.
"Roy! Your an absolute genius!" Ed through himself at Roy, wrapping his arms around his neck.
and hugged him as tight as he could.
Roy wrapped his arms around Ed's body, hugging him back.
"Ed..." Before Roy could say anything...Ed pulled away.
"Alright let's try it!"
Again, Ed scratched at the wound causing it to bleed, and he began to draw the new array on the ground.
Every minute or so he stood up and looked at what he'd done, to make sure that it was the way it should be.
'He really is an amazing kid, going through all of this, and still being able to do this...' Roy's mind wandered a bit while he watched Ed worked,and before he knew it...
"Roy! ROY! I'm done drawing it! Time to see if it works" Ed smiled and grabbed Roy's hand.
Ed pulled him along until they both were standing in the middle of the large octagon.
"Alright!" Ed said.
"You can do this." Roy said gently.
Ed tapped his hands together and placed them on the center of the array.
It immediately responded with a bright glow, green this time instead of blue.
"Ed! I think it's working!"
"Yeah...I hope so..."
Roy pulled Ed up into his arm's and held him tightly.
"Ed don't move, I won't let you go until we're out of here."
They both closed their eyes, as they felt an immense pressure on them.
Everything went dark.
Roy felt himself slam against something hard.
He unintentionally let Ed out of his grasp.
"Nnnggg..." His head fell back, and Roy passed out.
"Roy..."
"Roy..."
"ROY!"
Roy started to wake up, he heard someone calling his name...
"Ed...that you..."
"Yes! Of course it's me! Who the hell else would it be! Wake up!"
"Alright I'm awake, stop shouting" He gave a quiet laugh.
When he opened his eyes, Ed was next to him, holding his head in his lap.
"Ed...are..are...we...?" He tried to form a question.
"Yeah, we're out, it's over...it's over..." Ed helped get Roy to sit up, and tackled him with another hug.
"Roy. It's Over."
"Heheh...Yeah..."
"Roy?...Try not to pass out again..." Ed laughed.
"Why would I pass out?" Roy was still dazed, he'd really hit his head hard, not to mention all te blood he's lost.
"Ed, why would I-" He was cut off
Ed pressed his lips fiercely against Roy's mouth. Mouthing the words
"Thank you, Roy, I love you" Over and over.
Roy put his hands around Ed's back and kissed him back.
'No Ed, thank you...' He quietly said to himself.
