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*shakes head* I have no idea where this came from, and I'm tempted to write a second chapter, but I kinda like it this way. FMA, but not HoS. Set in an alternate ending, where Al is restored and everyone is where they belong. Let me know what you think and any errors I've made.
He wondered if he had forgotten anything.
Al was human. He was flesh and blood yet again, able to feel and taste. He once again was able to do all the things that he had been unable to do when he had been nothing but a soul in unfeeling armor.
And Al was now attacking the world in his own way. Everything he had been denied before had to be experienced now.
Some of it, he came to Ed for. Going out to eat, sparring, running until he was out of breath, those were things Al did with Ed.
But Ed wasn’t the only one Al had gone to.
It had surprised Ed when he had first walked in on Roy and Al. That surprise had ended in running, threats of bloodshed, actual bloodshed, and Al sitting on Ed.
Admiring the sharp edge, he remembered when they had been told they could rest now. That they didn’t have to wander as they had. That the quest was over.
Ed had enjoyed the feel of having no automail. There was a certain lightness to his motion. A freedom he hadn’t had before.
It would end in tragedy, Ed knew. Al they could hide. Those who knew that he had only been a suit of armor containing a soul were either allies or dead. But to have automail replaced by human flesh….
That smacked of human transmutation. Something people could still be dragged into labs for.
As the blade moved through the skin, he bit his lip. It was amazing how sensitive flesh could be.
Ed wondered if he was going mad. He should have been happy. Al was restored, and he had even found someone to be with. Ed had his arm and leg back as well as his beloved little brother. He should be ecstatic.
Instead, he felt more discontent every day. It was easy to put up a false front, to smile around everyone. But every day he did that, he felt a little more strangled inside.
He knew he should talk to someone, but he only trusted one person with his emotions. And that person had found someone else to share with. Ed would not taint that.
If there was one thing Ed would never do, it would be to destroy his brother’s happiness. If that smug bastard made Al happy, then good for them both.
But that couldn’t still the growing feeling that sat in Ed’s chest, cold and hard and unnamed.
It hadn’t taken long for Ed to feel the need to scream. Not just now and then, but all the time. He wanted to howl out that nameless feeling.
Instead, he felt like he was bleeding to death inside.
The blood was slick and dark as it slid down his arm. He had traced the vein all the way up to the elbow, and then across the wrist for good measure.
He did hate doing a job half-assed.
It had felt so much better after he had decided what to do. In some distant corner of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Al’s screamed that this was a horrid bad idea.
But, for the first time in forever, Ed had felt close to normal. He had a goal, something to work towards.
First had been the research. He wanted to do this right and get it done with the first time. The long years it had taken to restore Al left a bitter taste in his mouth when it came to drawn out quests.
The research was the hard part. Even though Al had all but moved in with Roy, it was hard to hide what he was searching for. And he knew that if Al found out, there would be fights and other distractions, and Al would end up bogged down. And then Ed would have been screwing up Al’s life yet again.
He would not do that.
It hadn’t really taken long to decide what course of action to take. After deciding that, Ed went over his checklist a few more times.
In the end, it all came down to Al. His brother had a life now, had love, and was really happy. Ed had come to understand over the years that he was a jinx to those he loved. An odd attitude for a scientist, but look at the evidence he had been able to gather. So this really was the best time to do this. He had to, before he cursed his brother yet again.
He stared in fascination as the blood stained his clothing. The rate both arms had turned red was also highly distracting. He hadn’t even noticed his vision graying out until a voice called his name. When he had looked at the place the door had been before he had transmuted it, he saw nothing but a grey haze.
It was quickly turning black, but, before everything faded, he could have sworn he saw a strange light. Blue and bright.
Then he saw nothing.
He wondered if he had forgotten anything.
Al was human. He was flesh and blood yet again, able to feel and taste. He once again was able to do all the things that he had been unable to do when he had been nothing but a soul in unfeeling armor.
And Al was now attacking the world in his own way. Everything he had been denied before had to be experienced now.
Some of it, he came to Ed for. Going out to eat, sparring, running until he was out of breath, those were things Al did with Ed.
But Ed wasn’t the only one Al had gone to.
It had surprised Ed when he had first walked in on Roy and Al. That surprise had ended in running, threats of bloodshed, actual bloodshed, and Al sitting on Ed.
Admiring the sharp edge, he remembered when they had been told they could rest now. That they didn’t have to wander as they had. That the quest was over.
Ed had enjoyed the feel of having no automail. There was a certain lightness to his motion. A freedom he hadn’t had before.
It would end in tragedy, Ed knew. Al they could hide. Those who knew that he had only been a suit of armor containing a soul were either allies or dead. But to have automail replaced by human flesh….
That smacked of human transmutation. Something people could still be dragged into labs for.
As the blade moved through the skin, he bit his lip. It was amazing how sensitive flesh could be.
Ed wondered if he was going mad. He should have been happy. Al was restored, and he had even found someone to be with. Ed had his arm and leg back as well as his beloved little brother. He should be ecstatic.
Instead, he felt more discontent every day. It was easy to put up a false front, to smile around everyone. But every day he did that, he felt a little more strangled inside.
He knew he should talk to someone, but he only trusted one person with his emotions. And that person had found someone else to share with. Ed would not taint that.
If there was one thing Ed would never do, it would be to destroy his brother’s happiness. If that smug bastard made Al happy, then good for them both.
But that couldn’t still the growing feeling that sat in Ed’s chest, cold and hard and unnamed.
It hadn’t taken long for Ed to feel the need to scream. Not just now and then, but all the time. He wanted to howl out that nameless feeling.
Instead, he felt like he was bleeding to death inside.
The blood was slick and dark as it slid down his arm. He had traced the vein all the way up to the elbow, and then across the wrist for good measure.
He did hate doing a job half-assed.
It had felt so much better after he had decided what to do. In some distant corner of his mind, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Al’s screamed that this was a horrid bad idea.
But, for the first time in forever, Ed had felt close to normal. He had a goal, something to work towards.
First had been the research. He wanted to do this right and get it done with the first time. The long years it had taken to restore Al left a bitter taste in his mouth when it came to drawn out quests.
The research was the hard part. Even though Al had all but moved in with Roy, it was hard to hide what he was searching for. And he knew that if Al found out, there would be fights and other distractions, and Al would end up bogged down. And then Ed would have been screwing up Al’s life yet again.
He would not do that.
It hadn’t really taken long to decide what course of action to take. After deciding that, Ed went over his checklist a few more times.
In the end, it all came down to Al. His brother had a life now, had love, and was really happy. Ed had come to understand over the years that he was a jinx to those he loved. An odd attitude for a scientist, but look at the evidence he had been able to gather. So this really was the best time to do this. He had to, before he cursed his brother yet again.
He stared in fascination as the blood stained his clothing. The rate both arms had turned red was also highly distracting. He hadn’t even noticed his vision graying out until a voice called his name. When he had looked at the place the door had been before he had transmuted it, he saw nothing but a grey haze.
It was quickly turning black, but, before everything faded, he could have sworn he saw a strange light. Blue and bright.
Then he saw nothing.
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...And yet, as twisted as Ed is about his own worth, I can see it happening.
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Agree with Hall, I can see this happening. T_T
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*goes to hide in corner away from razors*
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