(AC: Philosophorum Omega – FMA:B OST 3)
Edward and Alphonse both stood over Garand who was too startled by Ed's sudden use of alchemy. He rose to his feet and slammed a foot down, causing multiple spikes to burst up from the ground behind him and then launch into the air, starting to rain down towards the Elric brothers from overhead. Ed quickly clapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground, causing a large multitude of stone arches to form over him and Alphonse, the arches taking the damage from the spikes.
"Impossible! Your Gate of Truth was destroyed! How can you use Alchemy?!" Garand asked as the arches disappeared, only to see Ed armed with one of his gothic styled spears and Al with his arm blade extended. Al charged towards him while Ed leapt back, Al taking a swing at Garand to distract him before ducking down just as Ed hurled the spear at Garand, the spear piercing Garand's face, cleaving off part of the right side of his head, a spray of black blood bursting from the wound.
"Al! Now!" Ed yelled as he and Al clapped their hands and slammed them into the ground. A pillar then rose from beneath Garand, launching him into the air before shattering beneath him. A large hand made of stone then flipped quickly up from the ground, smacking Garand hard and launching him towards the east courtyard, hit trajectory causing him to smash into the outside corner of the temple on the way and crash land in the center of the courtyard, sending up a large cloud of smoke and dust upon impact. Around the courtyard, medics were tending to the wounded from Garand's earlier attacks, May helping to treat the wounded. Roy had a splint around his leg.
"What was that?!" May asked in alarm, the soldiers that were still standing quickly raising their weapons. Meanwhile, Ed and Al were running back into the temple in pursuit of Garand.
"Brother! What's going on! How are you using Alchemy again?!" Al asked as they ran.
"Pride sacrificed the remains of his Philosopher's Stone to temporarily restore my Gate of Truth! But I think he also told me how to defeat Garand or any Homunculus!" Ed explained as they entered the temple through the hole in the wall.
"How?! We've tried everything and he's still standing!" Al said.
"Not everything! We've been going about this all wrong! We've been focusing on his body, to make him use his Philosopher's Stone to regenerate and perform transmutations when we should be focusing on his Philosopher's Stone directly!" Ed replied as they headed for the main entrance to the temple.
"How do we do that?! I don't even think we can transmute a Philosopher's Stone itself!" Al said.
"We know what it's made of and the first step of any transmutation is comprehension!" Ed replied as they made it to the top of the steps outside the temple where Garand hadn't even gotten up yet.
"Alright, I'll follow your lead!" Al replied as they ran down the stairs. Garand was just starting to climb to his feet as they reached the bottom of the stairs, Garand turning to face them in annoyance.
"I will not be bested by a mere pipsqueak of an Alchemist!" Garand yelled, raising his fists into the air, causing a pair of carbon spikes to burst up from behind him aimed towards the brothers but they both dodged out of the way, clapping their hands together in the process before turning back and slamming them into the ground, impaling Garand in the shoulders from behind with two carbon spikes of their own.
"We only get one shot at this, Al! Ready?!" Ed yelled as Al gave a nod. The two brothers then ran towards each other, pressing their hands against each other's before spinning towards Garand and slamming their hands against his chest, causing a bright surge of red and blue alchemical energy to erupt around them. Garand let out a scream of pain and fury before he suddenly broke free of his carbon restraints, sending out a shockwave that launched the brothers all the way back to the temple steps, the two hitting hard, their arms crackling with red energy. (End AC) Garand doubled over in pain, holding his stomach while letting out a pained grunt, everyone around watching in awe and disbelief, unsure of what had happened. On the steps, Ed and Al were practically paralyzed from the transmutation.
"Al! Can you move?" Ed asked.
"No, it feels like my arms are broken." Al grunted, neither of them able to move. Garand then glared at them through the pain.
"You little bastards! I'm going to finish you both off, once and for all!" Garand yelled as he picked up a metal pipe that had been bent several times, standing tall with a look of fury on his face. Ed and Al were only able to watch in defiance as he began to approach, raising the pipe which started to crackle with red alchemical energy.
"This will be a day I will remember forever! The day I kill the Fullmetal Alchemi-AUGHHHHH!" Garand yelled in pain as the pipe began to morph but so too did his arm. His arm began twisting and contorting, turning black and growing metallic lesions, some of them with bladed edges. Garand was screaming in pain, clutching his mutilated arm. Everyone, including Ed and Alphonse all looked in stunned shock at the sight.
"A rebound!" Roy said softly.
"They did it! They broke his stone!" Izumi added.
"Well done boys!" Colonel Armstrong commented as Garand continued screaming in pain. He then looked down at his chest to see the Ouroboros tattoo dissolving away.
"No…no! NO! My stone! It's impossible! You broke my stone! YOU BROKE MY STONE!" Garand yelled, glaring at the two angrily and rearing back his arm.
"Damn you EDWARD ELRI-!" BANG!
Garand suddenly fell backwards to the ground with a spray of blood from his head and a large hole just through his right eye. He was dead before he hit the ground. Ed and Al both looked up behind them to see Elizabeth Morser, lying on her stomach in the temple entrance, an angry snarl on her face and shakily holding the pistol that Garand had shot her with earlier.
"I'll see you in hell…you…bastard." Morser cursed softly before dropping the pistol, her body going limp before breathing her last, dying from the loss of blood. There was a long silence as realization set in. Finally a number of soldiers let out cheers of celebration. (AC: Ray of Light - Shoko Nakagawa, 5th FMA:B ending)
"We did it!" "Victory!" "The Fullmetal Alchemist did it!" "We won!" the soldiers cheered. Roy, Izumi, Sig, Riza, Ling, Lan Fan, Scar, General Armstrong, and Miles merely smiled at the celebrating mass of soldiers. Colonel Armstrong, Darius, Heinkel, Paninya, and May were more celebratory and cheered along with the soldiers. Ed and Al merely smiled at the celebration going on around them, still lying on the ground although the numbness that wracked their bodies had partially warn off.
"Looks like the Fullmetal Alchemist saved the day." Al said as Ed chuckled.
"Looks like it." Ed replied, smiling up at the sky.
"I guess even no matter what happens, I'll always be the Fullmetal Alchemist's little brother." Al said, smiling at the sky as well.
"What are you talking about Al? You've never been just my little brother." Ed said, earning a confused look from Al.
"Huh?" Al asked as Ed reached into his pocket and pulled out the cover to his broken pocket watch, holding it over towards Al. Al quietly grabbed hold of it.
"You are my little brother, but you're not the Fullmetal Alchemist's little brother. That title goes to the both of us. We are the Fullmetal Alchemists." Ed replied as Al looked at him in surprise for a moment before smiling and both looking up at the sky.
"Yeah. The Fullmetal Alchemists." Al said with a smile. After a moment, Ed started to climb to his feet, pocketing the watch cover.
"Come on, Al. Let's go home." Ed said as he helped Al to his feet.
"Yeah. We should probably tell Winry the wedding's still on, huh?" Al asked as Ed chuckled with a grin.
"Yeah. And I won't get my ass kicked either." Ed replied but Al didn't look so sure.
"I dunno. You did let her automail armor get destroyed." He said as Ed sweat dropped.
"Oh…yeah…forgot about that." Ed replied as they started walking off to join the crowds.
End Chapter 23