So basically... DOCS MANAGER
OH MY GREEDLING!
IT'S BEEN YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARS! (Okay, maybe just two weeks, but that's ages for me!)
Here's a short chapter, the final part of the story… (Haha, I'm just trying to drag out the time until I have to end this, I guess… I hate endings. Always so sad…)
QueenCari1129 took out the last update with 'Up'! (I made it painfully obvious without even realising…) Toph Histsugaya took out the in-chapter reference; the song playing whilst Roy does his jazz routine is called 'Rainy Days, No Thank You'. It's sung by Roy and Riza's seiyuu (from the 2003 anime, I think). Since this is the (sort of) last chapter, the reference shall be:
"A lesson without pain is meaningless. You can't gain something without first sacrificing something in return. But once you overcome this and make it your own… You'll gain a Fullmetal heart that can never be replaced."
Yes. I did that. ONWARDS~! (And prepare yourself for a bloody long end note…)
Epilogue
ORATO
Tyrell whistled a sullen tune as he walked down the corridors of Azuro Palace, the familiar corridors of white and blue stretching on ahead of him as he made his way up to his parents' room.
It seemed like only moments ago he'd been farewelling the four Amestrians he'd befriended, one of whom had become his closest friend.
Tyrell met Edward's gaze last of all, the others standing a little way back as Roy instructed them on the next leg of their journey - from the Amestrian border town to East City to Central. The Colonel himself had given Tyrell a curt, "Farewell…and…thank you. For everything you've done."
All that was left was for him to say one final goodbye.
"This won't be the last time I see you, will it?" he asked hopefully. "I mean, it'd really suck if we just became friends and then lived in different countries our whole lives."
"Course not!" Edward replied with a grin. "I'll come visit you! Or you come to Amestris - either or. On second thoughts, I'll come to you. Orato seems like an awesome place to vacation…"
Tyrell shrugged. "We do have some nice beaches. And the sun is great."
Edward nodded. "I'll be able to swim there." As a muttered comment, he added, "Once I shake this auto-mail…"
"And your brother?"
"Haha, that's another story!" Edward laughed sheepishly. "Actually, I guess it's the same story…"
"Never worry," Tyrell replied. "Just don't forget about me."
"I won't. Promise." Edward held out a fist and Tyrell met it with his own.
"We'll see each other again sometime," Tyrell said solemnly. "I can sense it."
"Sense-schmense!" Edward exclaimed. "I'll make it happen!"
Tyrell grinned. "Right. Tally-ho then!"
"Yup." Edward's golden eyes flashed. "I'll be seeing you…Tyrell the shaman."
"Same to you, Ed Mustang."
And Tyrell had turned towards the carriage that was set for Orato, biting back the lump in his throat at having to leave his friends.
He hoped no-one noticed the mist in his purple eyes as he hung out the window and called back, "Seeyas, guys!"
Roy waved one hand in a quick farewell, nodding with a hidden 'thanks' behind it. Hawkeye followed suit, nodding her head and raising a hand. Edward gave him a mock salute from in front of an enthusiastic Alphonse who was waving both arms in the air.
He'd miss them.
He shook these thoughts from his head.
Now was the time to be professional, not sentimental. He needed to act in a curt and intelligent manner befitting of a prince if he wanted to have any chance of breaking the news to his parents without getting eaten alive for it.
Tyrell didn't know whether they'd been alerted of his return or not yet, but he doubted they cared. Being the second son in line to the throne and having a caring and pretty older sister both his parents adored, Tyrell got the short end of every stick. Which often included his parents' affection. In other words, he was just a back-up plan in his parents' eyes, in case his brother went wrong.
One could understand his surprise when his mother, Katrina, rushed out of a bedroom down the hallway and pulled this 'back-up plan' into a tight embrace.
"Tyrell!" she cried, wrapping her arms around him and rubbing the back of his head. "I heard about what happened!"
Tyrell blinked in mute shock, unable to see anything apart from his mother's long, curly brown hair.
"I got a phone call from Kambei telling me that you were fighting against Aerugo in a battle! I was worried sick!"
"You…" Tyrell stared at his mother like he'd just stumbled out of the Gate of Truth and understood the laws of the universe. "You were worried…about /me?"/
"Of course!" Katrina pulled back, taking her son's hands in her own and looking up at him. She was a fair bit shorter than him. "My dear son has gone off to fight in a battle that could be the start of a war! I could have lost you! Tyrell, my darling Tyrell, my sweet little boy…"
The young Oratoan allowed for himself to be pulled into another embrace, his mouth hanging open in surprise. He awkwardly placed one arm behind her back. It had probably been at least a year since he'd hugged his mother.
"What's with the change in attitude, ma?" he asked, his voice muffled into her shoulder. "I-I didn't think you cared about me."
"Why would you think that?" Katrina asked, her voice thick with emotion. "I love you just as much as your brother or your sister."
"It's just that…" Tyrell pulled away and looked down. "You haven't exactly paid much attention to me recently."
Katrina laughed, tears in her bright blue eyes. "I was trying to give you space! With everything that was going on, your father being sick, I thought you were going through a phase or something. You stopped listening to me, and you dyed your hair a silly colour and kept acting like a commoner… I thought you didn't care about me."
"And here I was trying to attract attention," Tyrell said with a laugh. "Wow, ma…I'm sorry. I hadn't realised…"
"It's okay, don't apologise," she said, hugging him tightly. "I love you. Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I didn't get hurt at all," Tyrell said, returning the hug. "I made friends with the Amestrian representative and his son, and they helped protect me and bring down Aerugo. Which reminds me!"
He pulled away. "We're allies with Kambei and Amestris now! We aren't in danger from Prince Claudio, or the King, or the rest of Aerugo any more! I got the Emperor's word on it! And guess what?"
He dug a hand into his pocket and retrieved a small glass bottle. "I can make dad better too."
Katrina burst into tears.
"Ma? Ma?! What's wrong?! Why are you crying?!"
"Tyrell…" she replied, smiling as she looked at him. "You are such a brave boy. This is everything we could ever have wished for. Thank you."
The young shaman smiled weakly, his own eyes starting to fog up again. "Right. Thanks. Let's just give this antidote to dad, and then we can go from there."
The two made their way down the corridor.
"Your big brother missed you too, you know," Katrina told him. "Although he'll never admit it, he was worried about you."
"Really?"
"Oh, yes. Felice too. And your father will be so happy to see you. And now that we can cure him, we can finally start on getting this country back to what it used to be."
"Haha! It'll be great!"
"Yes. The future is bright, Tyrell. The future is bright…"
AERUGO
"What do you mean you 'failed'? I raised a future king, not a failure! Try harder next time, Claudio. You've disappointed me."
The words rang in Claudio's ears as he stood scowling in a dark street. He'd purchased an expensive bottle of wine from a vendor just outside the palace, plotting vengeance in his head as he headed back to the castle.
He'd get those Mustangs good… They'd pay for his humiliation, somehow. He'd get them back.
He was about to take his first swig of the wine in his hand when out of no-where shot a spear of black that sliced the glass in half.
Blood-red liquid spilled onto the concrete as shattered glass scattered everywhere.
"What the…?" Claudio looked up. "Who threw that?!"
A hoarse cackle echoed from the shadows. "'Who threw that?', he says!"
"Reveal yourself in my presence!" Claudio barked, searching the dark street uneasily. "Who goes there?!"
"Just me," came a smooth, deep, familiar voice. There was a slight red flash as someone stepped out.
"You!" Claudio reached for the sword at his waist. "How dare you show your face here, Mustang?! You are not welcome in this land!"
The Colonel gave a sly grin, an unusual look on him. "Really? I guess I can be someone else, then."
There was a red flash, like lightning racing up the Colonel's body and suddenly he was Edward.
"Is this better?" the tiny alchemist asked, smiling sadistically as Claudio took a step back.
"A monster!" he uttered, starting to sweat.
"Envy, enough." A new voice joined the scene, a woman's voice that carried a soft yet deadly undertone.
"C'mon, Lust!" 'Edward' complained. "I'm just messin' with the stupid human!"
"Insolent fool! How dare you insult the crown prince of Aerugo?" Claudio whipped out his sword, blade flurrying as he charged the boy.
"Eh?" 'Edward' cast a lazy glance his direction and didn't flinch.
Snikt!
Claudio skidded to a halt, trying to press forward with his sword but failing as it ground against two long, thin spears crossed in front of him like an 'X'. They stretched the whole way from one alley to the far wall.
"Now now, Claudio," the woman's voice scolded. "Don't provoke us."
Finally, she stepped forward into the light.
Claudio trembled as he pressed harder against the black blades, but to no avail. He gasped as he saw they were attached to the hand of whatever creature had just emerged from the shadows.
It looked like a woman, luscious black hair cascading around her alluring face and a slim, black dress that accented her beautiful figure.
Envy sighed irritatedly and looked down at itself. "Ugh. This form is so small and unfashionable. How does this brat put up with himself?"
With that, it put his hands on its hips and the lightning zapped up again, revealing a human-like creature of questionable gender in Edward's place.
It grinned. "This is much prettier."
"What's with the hair?" Claudio growled. "Because you're in south Aerugo, you're going to mimick a palm tree?"
"What was that?!" Envy snapped, shooting a ferocious glare at Claudio. It's voice changed to a threatening rumble as he spat, "You wanna go? Human scum? Insult me one more time, I dare you!"
"I thought I said that was enough, Envy?" said Lust, her gaze raking the other homunculus. "We're not here to make a scene, remember?"
"I'll show you a scene," the green-haired sin muttered angrily. "I'll paint a whole landscape with this snob's blood!"
Lust looked back to Claudio, walking closer but not moving the razor-sharp spears extending from her fingertips.
"Now, Claudio," she said in a purring tone, "I've come to understand you've had a run in with Colonel Mustang and the young alchemist Edward, is that right?"
Claudio was too busy struggling against the blades to respond, letting out a grunt of pain as the wound on his shoulder was put under stress.
"I'll take that as a yes," she continued. "Well, Envy and I have come here to talk to you about that. You see, Edward and Mustang are valuable assets to us. We just can't have them going and getting themselves killed, can we? We can't have them being murdered either. Driving them mad is out of the question too - it would be quite hard for them to perform alchemy if they don't even know their own names."
Claudio saw where this was going. "Who are you? What power do you think you have over me?"
"Oh, how rude of me," Lust said in a falsely apologetic tone. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lust, and this here is Envy. And you'll do as we say…"
Claudio's eyes widened as Lust flicked her wrist ever-so-slightly.
His sword fell to the floor in several pieces with a neat chink-chinkchink!
"…or we'll kill you. Simple enough?"
Claudio gulped as sweat soaked his skin. There was nothing between his neck and those blades now. "What are you?"
"We are something much stronger than you mere humans," Envy put in. "We are a greater creature, a perfect creature! Forever young and immensely powerful!"
"What exactly we are is not a concern right now," Lust told him, her sharp claws hovering dangerously close to Claudio's face and neck. "The matter at hand is as follows; do not attempt to exact revenge on Colonel Mustang, the young alchemist Edward or the rest of Amestris, or there will be consequences."
Claudio stared in horror as Lust raised one finger and marked a trail of blood onto his cheek.
"And it's not just your life in danger," she said.
"Yeah!" Envy laughed. "Your family and country'll get it too. I'll bring Gluttony and he'll eat you all up, no problem!"
"You mean to tell me there's more of you?!"
"Oh yes," Envy told him. "Quite a few, actually. And then there's our Father. He's the strongest of us all."
"Yes," Lust agreed. "So if you even think about trying to invade Amestris or coming after those two, you and everyone else you know is dead. Do we make ourselves clear?"
Claudio trembled as he looked into those slitted eyes. He grit his teeth and didn't reply.
"Aagh!" he cried out as another spear darted forward and sank into his shoulder.
"I said…" Lust repeated, "…do we make ourselves clear?"
"Yes," Claudio gasped. "Very."
"There's a good boy," she said, retracting her claws. "Now run along and tell daddy what we told you. I think he'll remember us from the last time he tried to invade Amestris."
Claudio took a few steps back, then turned and sprinted in the direction of the castle. He heard Envy's cackling in the street behind him.
As far as Claudio's life had progressed, the last few days had sucked.
AMESTRIS
"Seriously? Seriously? Did I not say just before we left for Kambei that I didn't like this?"
"Come on, Ed, it's not that bad. And besides, you're a soldier of the Amestrian military. It's necessary."
"It hasn't been necessary for the last three years!"
"Well, it's necessary now, so suck it up."
"I hate you!"
"I hate you too."
Roy smirked, casting a glance back at the boy. The two were standing in an office in Central, waiting for Hawkeye to call them out. They'd been hustled straight to Central, not even getting the chance to catch up with Hughes or the rest of Roy's team. Due to their actions in Kambei, the pair were being awarded a medal in honour of their service to the country.
Like any other medal, it fixed to the left side of the military's blue formal uniform.
Which Edward did not have.
So after being alerted of the award, Roy had immediately set to action correcting this. Hence…
"I hate you," Edward repeated, folding his arms over the long blue coat. "So much."
Roy smoothed out his formal uniform, straightening his brushed-back hair and placing his hat on top. "It's not so bad. Women tend to go for men in uniform."
"I don't want women!" snapped Edward as Roy grabbed the boy's hat and slapped it onto his head. "I don't even want a stupid medal!"
Roy shrugged, still smirking. Medals were nice, but he would have preferred a promotion any day. In fact, he'd say it was odd he wasn't getting one. Oh well. I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer. "Whatever you say. Come to think of it, it's a wonder you haven't received any medals already."
"Whatever," Edward muttered, tugging grumpily at his new dress uniform. "As soon as we're done here, I'm transmuting this into pillow stuffing."
"Give it to me. I'll save it in case you need it again."
"Pffft."
The two stood in silence for a bit.
Roy pulled off his hat again, checking it for dust a fourteenth time.
Edward watched him scrutinising the blue material closely and said, "You know, you look really old with your hair smoothed back like that."
"And you look like a weirdo with yours tied in a braid all the time."
"Tch! You just don't know style! And in case you hadn't noticed, it isn't always a braid. This, my dear dumb 'dad', is a ponytail." Edward stared at Roy for a moment longer. Eventually, he muttered, "I don't like it."
"What?"
"Your hair like that. It makes you look like, a bazillion years old and way too serious."
Roy smirked. "Is that a fact?"
"Mm." Edward nodded, glaring. "Don't put your hair that way unless it's important. It weirds me out, you not looking like you're ten years younger than you are."
Roy rolled his eyes and put his hat on again. "Alright then. I'll try to refrain from hairstyles that offend the almighty wind spirit."
"Right," Edward replied. For good measure, he added, "Puny mortal."
"Sirs?" Hawkeye appeared in the doorway. "The Fuhrer is ready."
"Excellent." Roy straightened, a twinge running up his side. "Let's get out there then."
"To tell the truth, Mustang and Elric," the Fuhrer said whilst pinning the badge to Roy's chest. "An attack by Aerugo was obvious and inevitable. I could just as easily have sent a general in your place, however you two were better suited to the job. And look how well my decision turned out! As expected, Amestris and it's allied countries are now safe from any full-scale Aerugonian attack in the near future."
"With all due respect, sir," Roy said, "I don't see how we can be so certain of that fact."
"I've already sent word to the king of Aerugo educating him on the effectiveness of our State Alchemist program," Bradley explained with a smile as Edward stared on. "And after his son has seen you with his own two eyes…I doubt he'll be very willing to attack, not for a few years at least."
Roy shook his head, walking back through the building of Eastern Headquarters with Hawkeye at his heel. So Fuhrer Bradley was playing us all. He's a formidable man.
As he stepped through the office door, he was greeted with a terrible, terrible sight.
Five stacks of paperwork, each easily the height of his desk.
"What the…?" he trailed off.
"Welcome back, boss," Havoc and Breda chimed, both grinning sadistically.
Hughes sat at the front of the office, his feet propped up on the desk. He had a phone glued to his head. "Really? Oh, that's so great! I'll be sure to bring her back a toy for that award. Huh? Hey, Gracia, I'll call you right back - Roy just got here! Alright, love you, byeeee." He made a kissing noise into the mouthpiece and hung up.
"Roy! Hawkeye! How ya doin'?" he called, swinging around on the chair and dancing across the room.
"F…fine…" the man responded weakly, not averting his eyes from the mountain of paperwork. "Hughes, what the hell is all that?"
"What?" Hughes glanced over his shoulder at the pile of papers that Fuery had just added another chunk of torturous black and white lost time to. "That? Oh, it's all the paperwork that was sent through here whilst you were gone."
"And you couldn't have filed them for me, as acting Colonel?"
Hughes made an exaggerated noise of disbelief. "Me? A lowly investigations officer? I severely doubt I have the skill required to write my name hundreds of times over on bits of paper."
Falman watched from his desk as the two began to bicker.
"Then… Then what did you do?"
"I looked after your sorry ass."
"You couldn't have done even the slightest bit of this in your free time?"
"What free time? When I wasn't tryin' to look out for you, I was needed for consulting on the whole Scar shenanigan, and naturally, Gracia needs a daily phone call from me due to how she doesn't have me with her. And I needed to hear my little Elysia's voice to give me the energy to cope with the strain of work~!"
"The strain of doing absolutely nothing for two weeks straight?!"
"Oi! Wasn't nothing! I booked myself and this whole group for the late shift trying to figure out what was so fishy about the whole damned summit in the first place! And who solved the problem in the end? That's right - me!"
"And you still couldn't be bothered signing a few pages?"
"I saved it all for you Roy. I know how you love paperwork."
"I thought you were my friend!"
"I am your friend, Roy," Hughes replied. He grinned. "So it's good to have you back. Great work not dying and all!"
"Right." Roy sighed, giving a weak attempt at a smile. "Now, since we're such great friends, couldn't you just help—"
"Whoops, I gotta go! Can't leave Central Investigations without an such an important officer as my myself now, can I?" Hughes' antenna gave an involuntary twitch of assertiveness.
"Thought you said you were a lowly officer?!"
"Hahaha, well, it's all about perspectives, Colonel! I'll see you around!" He paused, looking slightly more solemn. "Seriously though. I'm glad you're alright."
"Me too," the Colonel replied. He snapped his hand to his forehead. "Now then, if all you're going to do is prattle on senselessly, your duties are no longer required. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes, you are dismissed from your post as acting Colonel of Eastern Headquarters. You are free to return to your normal duties."
"Yes, sir!" Hughes responded, returning the salute. "Have fun with the paperwork, buddy! I'll tell Gracia and Elysia you said 'hi'! And remember it's my beautiful wife's birthday soon!"
"Two months, Hughes," Roy mumbled and waved as the man strolled out of the room. "Her birthday is in two months."
"I'll pencil it into your calendar, sir," Hawkeye said as she walked past him and took up her position just behind his desk. "Your schedule for today is quite simple; you are to do this paperwork for the space of the whole day, only breaking for one appointment and lunch for ten minutes."
Roy looked helplessly at his subordinates. Falman gave him a 'don't look at me!' expression, Fuery shrugged and sweated a little, Breda hid his grin behind a logbook and Havoc just outright snickered.
"Are any of you really my friends?!"
"Oi, it ain't like we had it easy while you were gone," Breda called over.
"Yeah," Havoc added. "The Lieutenant Colonel's a legitimate slave driver!"
Falman gave a lone nod and Fuery a murmur of agreement. "He's evil," they said.
"Ain't hard to see why you're friends, at least," Breda continued lowly.
"Hmph. Whatever. Who's the appointment with, then?" Roy asked, begrudgingly dragging his feet up to his desk.
The office door flew open with a slam!
"Sup, Colonel Bastard?! Your beloved son is here to have a nice chat with you about a little matter of 'you owe me one, jerkass'! After you tell me why I got called here!"
Roy sighed.
Compared to the rush of work, jerk subordinates, serial killers and escapades regarding teenage alchemists screaming about the Philosopher's Stone Roy faced in his normal life, Kambei had almost seemed like a vacation.
"So, Colonel," Edward said, jokingly repeating the words he'd first spoken before Roy had revealed the Kambei assignment to him. He grinned as he flopped onto a nearby chair. "What's this all about, then?"
~The End~
Yup, I ended with the opening line. AND I WROTE ENVYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
NGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHH (This one dislikes Envy greatly.)
Because many chapters ago, someone by the name of Quinn1989 reminded me the Homunculi wouldn't let Claudio get away with torturing their precious sacrifices, hence…
Also, I broke my USB again (such angst and loss of epic FMA pictures) and that was really terrible… You'd think I'd have learned from the first time, but NOOOO.
And I found a picture! It has both Hughes and Black Hayate in it, which means it's canon they were alive at the same time! I base most of my fics off the manga, where Black Hayate enters in a bonus at the end of the volume with the Hughes incident, so always assumed they were in different parts of the timeline. But now I know they're not! WHOO
Also, I bought more FMA posters and manga and American chocolate we don't get here! Yay! I'mma cut myself short before I go off on a tangent.
REVIEW RESPONSES:
LordTicky: Well, you don't HAVE to review if you don't want to...but thanks anyway!
And everyone else who ever supported me and this story! You're all so nice! LOVE YOU! You don't know how much I appreciate everything you've all done for me. *sniffle*
Hope you'll stay tuned for the FINAL FINAL chapter. It's a little bonus thing. Keep following after the end and I'll post another chapter to give you all an alert when the sequel is posted - it will most likely be titled 'Red and Blue'.
OMAKE (From 'Of Post-Trauma and Planning Wars'.)
"I think I've got it!" Edward exclaimed excitedly.
"What?" Alphonse looked at him. "Really?!"
Edward nodded, golden eyes burning with passion. He grabbed the lead by his desk.
"Alright Den!" he yelled. "Sniff for something that smells like either cherries or raspberry! Red candy almost always tastes like one of those, so chances are the stone does too! Now, SNIFF DEN, SNIFF!"
(Partially inspired by Do a Barrel Roll's '444 Things…', the entry regarding the prohibition of selling off cherry flavoured candy as Philosopher's Stones, and Sparky.)
I'M REALLY SORRY IF LAST CHAPTER'S OMAKE OFFENDED ANYONE! On that note;
FLAME (?) RESPONSE: (Feel free to skip this - it's long and boring.)
In my own defence, I never said RoyEd shippers were 'sick'. In fact, I think if we all take a look back at the author notes (which you describe as 'often disappointing'...what?), it says, and I quote, "As usual, you can pretend it is Yaoi..." (Like at the start of many of my stories.)
For the record, I totally agree with what you're saying. Yes, it's really sad when people push their views on others, but that's not what I'm doing. I'm just making non-RoyEd fans laugh a little. I'm not bashing it.
Although you had the nerve to call me 'superficial' and 'narrow-minded' without knowing anything about me (I mean, you haven't read the author notes or anything - heck, you don't even know my name. Please don't make assumptions about who I am and what I believe, it makes kittens cry), I won't hate you for it. You are one who stands up for what you believe in, and I appreciate that!
And as a wise Ishbalan once said, 'Hatred only breeds more hatred'. With that logic, love should breed more love, and I would like to be responsible for that, no matter how small my contribution.
You were right on one account though - I don't understand RoyEd. Hell, I don't understand romance as a whole. I can write a tad, yes, but I've never been in love so I don't comprehend it. All I need to get by is the love of my family and friends - one of whom ships Edvy. And she's like, my best friend. Still think I'm narrow minded?
Only problem is, since you have 'cleansed your hands of me as a writer', you'll never see this. 'Disappointed', I am very sorry that what I wrote offended you, just keep in mind that every so often, people are going to poke fun at every ship there is, RoyEd in particular. So learn to tolerate others' opinions as well, and the world will be a better place for it.
We cool?
*silence as they don't respond*
I'll take that as a yes.
*insert pilot shades and arms folded pose as pyrotechnics rage in the background*