The warm morning sunlight that spread across Myra's face forced the blonde to open her eyes. She slowly sat up, reaching for her hearing aids. Placing them in her ears, she adjusted them properly.
She was in the room that Maes and Gracia had kindly lent her during her stay with them. Everything was almost just the way she last remembered it. The same wooden dresser sat across from the bed, the same dark blue curtains hung over the window and the same crack in the wall from the time Myra tried to use alchemy when she wasn't quite ready to be using it again. Just being in her old room felt nostalgic.
Myra recalled what happened yesterday after dinner. Ed needed to get back to the others and Gracia assured him that she'd take care of her. So with a goodbye hug and some final words, Ed left to rendezvous with the others.
His words echoed through her ears, 'We'll give the homunculi a good beating for you and everyone else they've hurt.'
It brought a smile to her face.
Myra decided to get up. She swung her legs to the side of the bed and her bare feet made contact with the cool ground.
She stood up, but the second all of her weight went to her legs, they began to wobble. Myra grabbed the nightstand to help her keep her balance, but she quickly collapsed to the ground.
'Huh? Why am I suddenly so weak? Th-This can't be happening.' Myra's eyes widened in sudden realization. 'I'm going to be bedridden after the Promised Day, aren't I? Or even worse, I—"
Myra heard rushed footsteps coming down the hall before the door swung open.
"Myra! What happened?" Gracia asked as she rushed to Myra's side, helping her to sit on the bed. "Are you alright?"
"I-I don't know... I just tried to stand up and then... I just fell." Myra stared at her hands folded in her lap. "Gracia, my strength keeps coming and going... it's only a matter of time before I..."
Gracia put a hand on top of Myra's causing her to look up. "I'm going to help you through this. For now, stay in bed. I'll bring you some breakfast."
An empty bowl sat on the nightstand as Myra fiddled with her fingers.
"Where's Elicia?" She asked, trying to break the silence.
"She's at her friend, Tabitha's, house." Gracia replied.
"Oh." Myra said, another moment of silence following.
"Myra, dear, talk to me." Gracia urged, concern in her voice.
Myra hesitated, "This wasn't supposed to happen... not yet. Ed and Al... There's still so many things that—"
"Myra..."
"Gracia... Ed said that what's happening to me right now is similar to what happened to our mother. I lied and told him that it wasn't because I didn't want to worry him. He and Al have so many other things they need to stay focused on, their last concern should be of me!" Myra ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
"Myra! Edward and Alphonse have gone years believing that you were dead! You meant so much to them and you still do. Having you back in their lives must have been like a light in a dark tunnel." Gracia never broke eye contact with her as she spoke. "I spoke with Ed when you were in the shower. You always put your brothers before yourself and you've always protected them. But now, it's their turn to protect you. It's their turn to look after you just as you did for them when your mother passed away. Once the Promised Day is over, they'll come back to watch over you."
"But, their bodies—"
Gracia shook her head. "Ed seemed convinced. Despite what you told him, he's scared that history will repeat itself. He and Al agreed to it together."
"Those two..." Myra said, putting her head in her hands. "They both can be so stubborn sometimes." Her voice cracked. She refused to cry. "I don't want to do this to them."
"He seemed pretty angry, you know." Gracia began. "You, unlike the others, were forced to commit the taboo among alchemists. None of it was your fault, but yet you're the one suffering. They want to make the homunculi pay for that." Gracia paused, "And I'm sure your father feels a similar way as well."
Myra took a moment to process what Gracia had said. Despite everything that was happening right now, she felt content. Myra felt overjoyed to have a family that cares so much for her. Friends as well.
Her family that she cares so much for: Ed, Al, Hohenheim, Winry and Pinako.
Her friends that made life with the homunculi bearable: Drew, Ava and Oscar.
The people who took her in after her trauma and treated her like their own family: Maes, Gracia and Elicia.
Even the memories she shared with the people at Central: Colonel Mustang's complaining when he has a lot of paperwork, Lieutenant Hawkeye making sure he gets his work finished, 2nd Lieutenant Havoc's bad luck with girls, Major Armstrong's kind personality despite his looks and many others.
Myra couldn't even begin to count the laughter, smiles and jokes she shared with each person. Even if times were tough, it always helped to get through the day.
"Myra, do you have any regrets?" Gracia asked.
Determination welled up in her golden orbs, "Just one."
A few days passed and Myra's condition wasn't getting any better. Her physical condition had more ups and downs than a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster with a downward track. Her health is deteriorating.
Myra has also been getting bad feelings in the pit of her stomach and it was making her restless. She worried for Ed, Al and the others.
"Myra, dear, you don't need to help me cook. You should be resting." Gracia stressed.
Myra chuckled, "Gracia, right now I feel fine. I promise if I start to feel anything but fine, I'll take a break." She added the last part after Gracia gave her a look.
"By the way, where's Elicia?"
"She fell asleep on my lap before you got home so I put her in her bed." Myra replied while cutting some vegetables.
Gracia smiled as she stirred the pot. "You know, it got kind of lonely around here after you left. Elicia was down one big sister."
"I missed her too." Myra smiled in nostalgia. "But I heard Winry was able to keep her company for a while."
"Yes, Winry was a great help when she was here! She sort of reminded me of you."
Myra held a sheepish smile.
'I still never explained anything to Winry,' Myra mentally sighed. 'She deserves a proper explanation.'
"The carrots are done." Myra said as she set the knife down.
"Great, I think the soup's just about ready for it." Gracia said.
Myra put all of the chopped carrots into the pot and stirred it.
"Myra, could you get me some potatoes from the pantry?"
"Sure thing."
Myra set down the cutting board before walking down the short hallway to the pantry. She was about halfway there when the bad feeling returned.
She felt buzzing under her feet and Myra braced herself as she looked down just in time to see a giant eye appear exactly where she was standing. A bright light illuminated off of it and blue electricity crackled like fireworks. Myra knew exactly why this was happening.
"Myra!" Gracia came rushing to see what the noise was.
Several long black arms came from the eye and latched onto Myra. "Stay back!" She told Gracia as she struggled against the arms. Wherever they touched, that part of her body would start deteriorating into thin air.
Despite her warning, Gracia still reached out, grabbing Myra's hand. But it was no use as Myra's hand soon, too, deteriorated along with the rest of her body.
Once its work was done, the eye closed, and vanished as if nothing had happened.