Quickly, he then reached into his pocket and slipped on a glove. Tobias removed his hand from his pocket and snapped his fingers loudly. A large spark of flame appeared and found its way to the Fuhrer's face. Kalmin pulled back and cried out in agony, dropping his sword, and grabbing for his now burning face. Tobias suddenly remembered the other weapon he had. He reached for the holster hanging at his hip and pointed the gun at Kalmin, but he soon realized he did not need it. The Fuhrer was still standing, holding his face, and breathing heavily. As he stared fiercely at Tobias between his fingers, his colorless eyes turned glossy, and he fell with a hard thud to the floor, motionless.

Tobias stood unsure whether this was a ruse or what he had predicted about the Fuhrer was true. He waited for almost a minute before picking up the sword and tying it to his own belt. He then proceeded to pick up Kalmin's body and set it in one of the remaining chairs. Quickly, (he did not know how much longer Kalmin would be out) Tobias went over to Reese's body and undid his belt. He then went back to the Fuhrer and tied his body to the chair. Tobias was thankful Reese had a much larger belt than what was proportionate to his body size.

As soon as Tobias had finished fastening the belt around Kalmin, someone opened the door to the room. If they had knocked, Tobias did not hear them. Slowly, Tobias turned around to find Riza standing in the doorway.

Tobias relaxed. "Thank God," he breathed. "Someone I trust."

"What the hell happened in here?!" Riza exclaimed.

Tobias quickly recounted everything, including Reese's betrayal and how Kalmin had tried to kill him. "What we thought was true," Tobias told her, "Kimblee's soul is being rejected by his body. He's out right now."

"And you've tied him to a chair," Riza noted.

"A precaution for when he wakes up," he replied.

"I see you burned the side of his face."

"Self defense, really."

Riza kicked at Kalmin's foot. "Stupid bastard," she snarled.

"I don't appreciate being called names," Kalmin said slowly as he came to. "I do have feelings you know."

"Well, so you are alive," Riza said crossing her arms. "We were beginning to think you were dead and gone for good."

"Don't get your hopes up, Hawkeye," Kalmin replied with a growl.

Riza tsked and turned to Tobias. "Now what were you planning to do with him here?" she inquired.

"Honestly, I didn't expect to get this far," Tobias replied scratching the back of his head. "I just tied him to the chair because I don't appreciate being killed."

Riza rolled her eyes. "Fine then. I'll do something." She turned back to Kalmin and punched him hard in the face. "That was for Roy, you bastard!" she exclaimed. She punched him again. "And Natasha! She did nothing! They did nothing to deserve death." Blood dripped out of the Fuhrer's mouth. Tobias could see Riza's body shaking in anger or grief (he could not tell which) from where he stood.

Kalmin spit out a bloody tooth. "And you think hitting me will bring them back?" he asked. "Shows how desperate you want him back." He smiled red. "Oh, I know. You don't want her back. Just Roy."

Riza sent a hard blow with her fist in his gut. "This has nothing to do with that," she said through gritted teeth. She leaned close and hissed in his hear, "I lost more than a leader that day. I lost two people from my family. I doubt you would even know what that feels like! I doubt you would know what any pain beyond physical feels like!" She grabbed the gun that was in Tobias' hands.

"Hey, wait-!" Tobias cried.

Riza knocked Kalmin over the head with the butt of the gun. "He deserves everything he gets!" she told Tobias as she raised her arm to strike him again. "Everything!"

Tobias grabbed her wrist and held her back. "STOP!" he yelled. "I order you to stop!"

Tears began falling down Riza's face. "He deserves to die!" she screamed through her sobs. Tobias had to wrestle the gun away from Riza. "He killed Roy! He killed Roy!" she cried falling into Tobias' arms and shaking violently. "He killed them!"

"Riza, stop, please," he said softly. "I know it hurts. It hurts me as well. But I need him alive for a little longer. I can't have him dead just yet," Tobias told her. "Not until he tells me what I need to know." He turned to Kalmin, who was somehow still conscious after Riza's strike to him, and said. "Tell me why. Do it now, or I swear to God and on my parent's grave, you will not live another day without anguish and torture." He cocked the gun and pointed it at him. "TELL ME!"

Kalmin painfully lifted his head and looked at Tobias. His face was already bruising from the hits, blistering from the flames, and bleeding from his mouth. Before he spoke, he spit out another couple of teeth and a fair amount of blood. "Whether or not you ever find out, what will you do when you have gained what you seek? Will you go on living a meaningless life?"

Tobias pulled the trigger, shooting Kalmin in the leg. "I said, TELL ME DAMMIT!"

He yelled out but quickly shut his mouth, muffling his cry. "Your father," he said clenching his teeth, "was, in my humble opinion, a bigot. I killed him and your mother because those filthy Ishvalens were crowding the streets. He could have exterminated them all during the war, but no, he was too soft!" He spat the last word as if it were poison.

"My father was a hero!" Tobias countered.

"Your father killed people!" Kalmin yelled back. "Your father did not hesitate to kill any of them. He only regretted it all later. He tried to cover up his sins by saving what was left of those pieces of dirt! Helping them get rights! Letting them roam the streets! Allowing them to have their holy land back! He only did it to make himself feel better and look good in front of a crowd!"

"He was a good man! He loved those people! He never wanted to do that to them!"

"Your father was a murderer." Kalmin smiled wickedly. He motioned towards Riza. "Ask her! She was there! She too was a part of the slaughter of the Ishvalen people!"

Tobias paused and turned towards Riza, who was still on the floor. "I know what they both did. I know of the blood they spilt," he said now strangely calm. "Could they ever atone for their sins? Probably not in this life." He turned back to Kalmin. "I believe God forgives those who regret. I also believe he sends people like you straight to Hell." He pointed the gun between Kalmin's eyes.

Riza put her hands on Tobias' wrist. "Wait," she said. "Let me do this. You don't need to put blood on your hands too." Kalmin rolled his eyes and muttered something about Riza being tacky.

Reluctantly, Tobias handed over the weapon. Riza took the gun and focused the barrel on Kalmin's forehead. A shot echoed within the room, but Riza had not pulled the trigger. Kalmin sat confusedly in his chair, wondering why he was still able to function. Another shot echoed and Riza was pushed back. Blood seemed to burst out of her chest as she fell backwards, hitting the floor.

"RIZA!" Tobias yelled and instantly dropped at her side and pulling her head into his lap. Her eyes rolled around trying to focus on Tobias' face. "Stay with me! Please!"

He looked towards the gunman and saw instead, Sophie. She was crying and shaking violently with the gun in both of her hands. "She was going to kill our Fuhrer!" she cried. "Why didn't you stop her?!" she yelled at Tobias.

Kalmin laughed and smiled. "That's my good little Sophie. Always knew she would come in handy."

Suddenly, Sophie was tackled to the ground by three figures. "Get off of me!" she exclaimed.

"Grab her legs!" one said.

"Get my gun first before you get her arms!" said another.

"I'm trying!" said a third.

Tobias recognized the three men as his teammates: Victor, Max, and Lucas. Eventually, Victor and Max were able to hold Sophie down so she would keep still. She was crying hysterically. "She was going to kill him!" she wailed. "She was about to kill our Fuhrer!"

Lucas, being the weaker of the three, walked over to Tobias and Riza. "Shit, Colonel," he said as he glanced at Reese's body, Kalmin, and his squad leader. "We heard from Max that you were with the Fuhrer, but we didn't know how bad things had gotten."

Tobias almost did not hear him. He was too busy getting Riza to respond to his touch and voice. "Riza, please," Tobias said choking up. "Please, you have to stay alive."

"Tobias," Riza said hoarsely, "nobody lives forever. Not even me. You of all people should know that." She smiled softly.

"No, please. I still need your help! You can't die now! We'll call a doctor! We'll get you medical attention! Anything that can help!" Tobias was sounding desperate. "You can't die!"

Riza put her hand on his arm. "Tobias," she said calmly. "We'll see each other again eventually. I'm content to accept death now. I'm ready. Continue your life and start new with Rachel. Don't let anybody tell you," she choked on her blood, "that she's too good for you." Her eyes became glassy as she looked away from Tobias' face. "Roy…?" Her body shuddered and her breath slowly left her body until her life was gone.

Tobias stroked her hair and held her close to him. Gently, he rocked her body back and forth. The only sound that could be heard within the room was Sophie's repugnant sobbing. Max, Victor, and Lucas watched Tobias quietly. Lucas put an arm on Tobias' shoulder.

Kalmin chuckled. "People are so strange when it comes to death. It happens every day. Why does one life matter so much?"

Tobias tenderly set Riza's body on the floor and shut her eyes. She looked as if she were sleeping and nothing was going on around her. He stood, leaving Lucas to watch him walk past, and made his way towards Kalmin. "One life can make all the difference in the world. Be it good or bad. My father had a negative mark on this world and a positive one. One life can make all the difference. People depend on others for support." He glanced over at Sophie, who was now being allowed to sit up, but Max and Victor kept her still. He glanced at Reese's body. "Of course, with a corpse and a hysterical woman, you already know how to depend and use others to your benefit even if it kills them and you get away."

"So what? I had a few close followers," Kalmin said shrugging his shoulders. "If you kill me here, what are you going to tell the rest of the country? How will you tell those followers you killed me?"

Tobias laughed. "Who said anything about killing?" He shook his head, still laughing. "No, I believe I'm going to point you out as the fraud you are. I'm sure many of the now free Ishvalens would love to hear that their Fuhrer was the very man that destroyed them all and did it joyfully. I will personally make sure you rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life. Or at least," he said with a shrug, "until your soul never returns to your body. Whichever comes first."

Kalmin glared at Tobias. "You don't have anything to prove your claims."

"I don't have to," Tobias replied. "What happened here and even a testimony from Sophie would be enough to get the truth publicized."

Kalmin tsked. "I won't allow that to happen."

Tobias chuckled lightly. "What makes you think that you can stop it now?"

The Fuhrer smiled. "Plenty," he replied. Suddenly, Kalmin jumped up, the belt falling from around his body, and leapt towards Tobias, his hands reaching for his throat. Tobias landed on the floor with a hard thud, Kalmin's hands around his neck, and breath refusing to enter his lungs. "Now, Mustang!" Kalmin yelled. "Let's see how long you last!" Lucas tried pulling Kalmin off of Tobias, but was quickly shoved away. Tobias's face was turning red. Kalmin reached for his sword, which Tobias still had attached to his belt. The flash of the blade shone in Tobias's eyes, blinding him for a second.

Tobias stretched his arm towards the gun that had been knocked out of Riza's hand earlier. It was just barely out of reach. His other hand tried lessening the pressure off of his throat. Tobias could feel the gun getting closer as he clawed for it. Finally, the gun was firmly in his hand and he quickly brought it to where it was pointing at the Fuhrer's chest. Without hesitation, Tobias pulled the trigger.

Immediately, the pressure was released from Tobias's throat. Kalmin looked at his chest, where a hole now existed, and rolled off of Tobias, falling on the floor, dead. Tobias rolled in the other direction, gasping for breath, and chest rising and falling with each gulp of air.

"Oh shit," Lucas breathed.

Sophie screamed. "FUHRER KALMIN!" She tried to crawl towards his body, but Max and Victor kept her back.

Victor attempted to calm her. "Sophie, listen, just calm down," he said softly, but struggled to think of words to say.

"He's dead!" she wailed. "HE killed him!" She curled up into the fetal position on the floor between the two men and continued to weep.

Max walked over to Tobias. "Colonel, are you alright?" he asked, kneeling beside him.

Tobias nodded, while still catching his breath. "Yeah," he breathed. "Damn," he muttered, "what did I do?"

"It was self defense," Max replied. "He attacked and you defended. You have more than one witness you prove it." He glanced back at Sophie, who was still huddled on the floor. "Although, I think she might say otherwise if questioned."

"I'm not so worried about her," Tobias replied. "I just killed the Fuhrer. Not many people are going to like me for that."

Max shook his head. "No, but you never know how people are going to react to the truth."

Tobias sighed heavily. "I'll do what I can. I'll tell the country exactly what happened. Over the radio, that way no one can alter what I say. They have every right to hear what happened to their leader." He looked over at Sophie. "Make sure she gets put in a hospital," he ordered to no one in particular. Glancing at the three bodies in the room, he added, "And call the MP. I suppose this needs to be put on record. Don't touch anything until the MPs arrive." Max, Victor, and Lucas all nodded and went about doing as Tobias ordered.

This concludes the (almost) final chapter of this story. Thank you everybody who has read and enjoyed this fic! I had so much fun writing it, but don't think that this is the end! There is an epilogue coming (eventually) (I've been really busy lately .A. ) So stick around for another chapter!

And don't forget, I will be writing drabbles and prequel story to this story. Those will also be up starting here in the next month or two. You have so much to look forward to!