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Time's Scar	By : RotSeele Category: Fullmetal Alchemist > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 828 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. I do not make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Time's Scar
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 17-Seventeen
- 18-Eighteen
- 19-Epilogue
- 16
- 17
- 18
Seventeen
Olivier burst out laughing as Elric's alchemy diffused mere inches from the catwalk he stood on. Elric cursed and stepped backwards slowly, and as he did, Edward noticed that the older Alphonse was tensing, preparing to respond to something. It was a good thing he was prepared, because a second later he cried out his brother's name as the alchemy that had been diffused inches from Olivier was suddenly shot back out at Elric. The older Fullmetal was barely able to transmute a shield in time, and Ed heard his own brother gasp as the older Alphonse left them on the ledge. He quickly joined his brother on the floor and grabbed him by the shoulder. Ed could only imagine the older Alphonse was asking his brother if he was okay.
"I have to applaud your efforts, Edward." Olivier was saying. "I truly am disappointed that you failed so horribly."
"Failed you, you mean." Elric spat. He straightened to his full height. So did Alphonse beside him.
"Failure is failure." Olivier sniffed. "And I knew once you had time to consort with those two over there that you'd come for your little brother, and for me. So in that time, I prepared all the measures I need to counter your alchemy, and to end you once I get what I want from you."
"I'm not telling you how to use the translocation alchemy."
"Oh, you'll tell me. I know how you work, Edward. You'd rather be hurt than see someone you love get hurt. You'd rather die than be the one to do the killing. That's why all of the deaths were fast and relatively painless." Olivier smiled. "I, on the other hand, know what I need to do to get the answers I want."
Elric looked skeptical and he shrugged. "I don't know what it is with bad guys. They always act like they have the upper hand?"
Alphonse smiled a little. "Because, Brother, it's in the handbook."
"Oh, really?"
Above, the younger Elrics watched their older counterparts in disbelief. Ed looked toward his brother and asked, "Are they taunting him, or something?"
Alphonse shrugged. "They've probably faced this kind of situation more than we have."
Edward just let out a low whistle. "Isn't it ironic that we're going to grow up to be just like them?"
"Ironic and a little bit frightening."
Edward shifted and tried to move toward the stairs that they had taken to reach the platform. The movement seemed to catch Olivier's attention, and the man smiled widely. Ed quickly grabbed Al's hand and pulled him toward the ledge, leaping at the last second. Behind them, the platform exploded, sending debris raining down on all four Elrics as the elder pair used their own alchemy both to soften the younger pair's landing and shield them from the worst of the falling debris. When Ed and Al recovered enough, they looked back up at where the ledge had been, and saw only a gaping, smoking hole in the side of the building.
The older Alphonse grunted softly. "Looks like he mastered step one, Brother."
Elric frowned. "Looks like it." He turned back to face Olivier. "Killing them won't make us disappear, you know."
Olivier just smiled. "Oh, I know. But it'd make me feel so much better."
Elric shifted, more to shield the younger Elrics than to prepare for an attack on the man who was still currently out of reach and protected by something that caused alchemy to first dissipate and then redirect itself back onto the alchemist who had used it to begin with. He looked at the others. "Until we figure out what he's got, we're not going to be able to touch him."
"So what do we do?" Ed asked.
The older Alphonse looked at the distance between them and Olivier. "If we give him a chance, he's going to destroy us. But Ed - I mean, Elric - and I can provide a distraction for you two to get close. Especially you." He looked at his younger self, indicating the armor the boy's spirit was housed in. "You'll have to dodge our alchemy, but it shouldn't be redirected at you. If you can get up there, hand to hand will be your only option."
Alphonse nodded. "I can do that. Brother can figure out what it is he's using to protect himself."
"Be careful."
Edward nodded and clapped his hands, passing his left over his right to form his blade. At the same time, Elric clapped his hands and slammed them down on the rubble they stood on, forming giant spikes that raced toward Olivier. The man just laughed and raised his hand. The spikes crackled with alchemical light as they hit the shield and crumpled into dust. By the time the spikes reformed and launched back at Elric and his brother, Ed and Alphonse were already moving, racing across the room toward the opposite end. They dodged the falling debris where the spikes impacted, sending up clouds of dust that both helped hide them and limited their visibility. The younger pair reached the wall and looked up, seeing the catwalk above them.
"What do you think you can do?" Olivier called down to them. "I lead the Académie! We know everything there is to know! Your alchemy is nothing compared to science, and when combined with it, there's nothing greater than one who has mastered both!"
Edward stared as a flashing light appeared above their heads. A moment later, a swirl of fire appeared and, lightning quick, it crashed down over the two younger Elrics. Ed barely managed to transmute a shield out of concrete in time, but he still felt the heat of the fire against his skin.
"Are you okay?" Alphonse asked as Ed shook his hands out, cursing under his breath.
"I'm fine." Ed replied. He looked out where the older Elrics were, moving as their alchemy was reflected back at them. Above, he could hear Olivier laughing, enjoying watching the alchemists below work to not only try and beat him, but survive their own attacks. Ed knew the others weren't using dangerous alchemy, but it still could hurt if they were hit by it.
Alphonse looked up at where the firestorm had come from. "It looks like there's a circle drawn in the concrete."
Edward followed his brother's gaze and frowned. There was a circle there, very faint. It was crude as far as circles went, but it still was functional, if the firestorm was any indication. Edward let his gaze roam over the rest of the concrete, picking out other crudely drawn circles etched into the stone. He pointed them out to Alphonse, then bent and grabbed a shard of debris. "They look like Roy's circles." Ed said, moving over to the closest one. He clapped his hands, then eased his blade back into the top plate of his automail. "It shouldn't be hard to disrupt these."
Alphonse followed him over, then lifted Ed up so he could scratch a line through the circle. Ed paused though, studying the make of the circle. His eyes followed the formulas, each one making itself clear to him the longer he studied it. The circles weren't like Roy's at all - they only looked like them. The formulas written out were designed to catch and trap the energy of alchemy in a bastardized version of equivalent exchange. The circles were probably drawn all around where Olivier stood, absorbing the alchemical energy Elric was throwing at it, then sending out the equivalent amount of energy in the shape the circle dictated. And the person controlling all of that was Olivier. Which meant there was a master circle to the smaller ones scattered here and there.
"Ed?" Alphonse questioned, his words almost drowned out by another explosion. "What is it?"
"Scratching them out won't do anything but make us go boom." Edward said. "I can redirect the energy they're collecting and redirecting at us back at Olivier."
"And?"
"And the next time Elric or the older you uses alchemy, the circle I'm working on will either blow us up, or redirect the energy to a different circle, blowing it up. I'd have to get to the master circle in order to stop it completely."
"Which is where Olivier is standing and we can't use alchemy to get to him."
"Right. Even if we use alchemy to create a staircase leading up there, there's a circle that's going to take that energy and redirect it out there or at us. And it won't be a staircase it makes."
Alphonse made a concerned noise. "So what do we do? We can't alter all of them."
Ed agreed, nodding his head as he looked for another circle to study. "No... But we can alter enough that maybe the energy they collect will be focused on the master circle."
With that, Ed began to scratch new formulas from the old, focusing on the one above him before directing Alphonse to the second. It took a little longer because Ed couldn't reach some of them, but when he got those taken care of, Alphonse was able to help him. In the meantime, they had to make sure to dodge discharges from other circles as Elric and his Alphonse used their alchemy against Olivier. Finally, Ed decided they were as finished as they were going to get and signaled to Al.
Together, they ran back out to join their elder selves. Edward quickly explained his plan to Elric, and saw understanding in Elric's eyes. Elric looked at his brother and made a hand gesture. The older Alphonse blinked but nodded. Elric looked back at Ed. "Our alchemy will have a bit of a kick to it. You think you two can shield all of us from the blowback?"
Ed grinned. "I know I can."
Elric nodded and looked up at where Olivier stood. Ed looked too, and saw the man grinning as though he knew his victory was assured. Olivier raised a hand and flicked his wrist. A swirl of hot air appeared before him in the air, crackling with alchemical light. The older Alphonse moved, crouching low to put his hand to the concrete rubble. His own alchemy lit up, the circle transmuting the stone in front of them into a wedge-shaped shield. The air compressed, then exploded outward, slicing through the space between them and breaking upon the shield. Ed covered his face out of instinct and out of the corner of his eye saw Elric moving. He didn't go far, but clapped his hands before slapping them to the wedge shield. The stone shifted, undulating as it changed form from a shield to a weapon. The golem that rose out of that stone lifted its spear and heaved it forward, sending the thick stone spear flying.
Olivier laughed as the spear crashed into the shield surrounding him, alchemical light flaring brightly as the energy from the spear was transferred into the shield. Eyes wild, Olivier yelled, "There's nothing you can do, Fullmetal! I am superior to you in every way! Your alchemy will never beat mine!" He dissolved into laughter again, then raised his hand.
That was when the older Alphonse moved, his alchemy activating in quick succession. The stone he transmuted into bullets shot quickly toward the shield, slamming into it. As the energy was absorbed, Elric started to transmute another golem and stone spear, this time creating two out of the material he had left to use. Both Edward and Alphonse waited, crouched low and holding their hands above the concrete Elric was being careful not to use. Alphonse had quickly sketched a circle on his side, and Ed was waiting to clap his hands to form his half of their cover.
The older Elrics' alchemy was consumed by the shield just as they knew it would be, and in the moment it was to be redirected, Ed and Al both activated their alchemy, quickly building a barrier between them and the oncoming onslaught of alchemical energy. Elric crouched behind the shield and covered his ears with his hands, as did the others. A moment later, they could all feel a rumble in their bones. It started like a deep bass drumroll, growing increasingly louder and faster until they could feel their bodies vibrating with the concussion wave. The chain reaction of the altered alchemy circles was causing the concrete to implode, driving a rain of pieces into the air. As soon as the energy ate through those circles, it focused on the only exit it had left - the main circle where Olivier stood.
The entire portion of that side of the building blew outward, scattering charred pieces of concrete into the landscape.
Elric was out of cover before the others. He was racing toward the smoking remains of the wall, sliding around one of the largest pieces of concrete and out of view. Edward and the others followed, hearing a loud clap and then seeing the alchemical light flare behind the rubble.
Ed turned the corner and stopped dead in his tracks, seeing Elric locked in a defensive posture with Olivier bearing down on him with a sword made from the twisted metal that had been used to reinforce the building's wall. Olivier's face was bruised and burned from the explosion. His suit has been ripped and scorched, and Ed could see patches of angry red skin where he had been burned. The whole left side of his body was bloody, as if he's barely managed to escape the blast with his life.
Olivier's eyes turned on Edward then, and in those orbs the young alchemist saw madness and hate. He saw Olivier's hand raise - saw the bloody alchemical circle carved there on its palm - and barely registered that he had about five seconds to move before he was blown to pieces with destructive alchemy.
Ed's entire body vibrated as Elric forced Olivier's hand down toward the ground, making the alchemy hit the ground beneath their feet and explode in a shower of dirt and debris. Ed threw up an arm to shield his face, and then stared wide eyed as Elric leaped out of the cloud to stand in front of him, almost shielding him. The left side of Elric's face was bleeding, a jagged cut above his eye. Behind them, Ed heard his Alphonse grabbing the older version of himself and hauling him backwards, despite vocal protests.
The ground beneath the two Eds suddenly exploded. Both of them were flung into the air, high enough that Edward could see the damage that Roy and Mustang had wrought, and then suddenly he was falling back down to the earth. A hand touched his back and suddenly Ed found himself on the ground, unharmed. He stared around bewildered, then yelped as Elric simply appeared beside him. Elric was panting, sweating a little bit, and Ed saw a bright stain of red against his side.
"You're hurt!" Ed hissed. "You're hurt and you used translocation alchemy on us!"
"Gee, you're welcome." Elric groaned as he straightened, his gold eyes pained as he gained his feet. He clapped his hands and pressed them to his wound, sealing skin with remedial first aid alchemy.
A stone crashed into Elric's chest when he was almost finished. Ed scrambled to his feet and ran after his older self, grabbing the man's shoulder to steady him as Elric gasped for breath. He looked toward the source of that stone and saw Olivier stalking toward them, bloody and bruised and psychotically angry. He lifted his hand, the one with the carved alchemy, and pointed his hand at them. Olivier's chest expanded. "You bastard." Hissed the director of the Académie. "You couldn't just follow orders, could you? No, the great Fullmetal Alchemist has to be the good boy, the good pet, and make everything right like he's some damn glorified hero!"
Ed twitched and nearly had his automail hand blown off. Olivier cackled. "There's nothing you can do, pipsqueak! I win! I will always win! There is nothing - nothing - you can do to stop me! You will tell me the secret to the translocation alchemy, and I will make sure you die in relative peace."
Elric grabbed Ed's arm and pulled himself up so they were both siting side by side. Elric smiled at Olivier. "I won't tell you anything."
Olivier was standing over them now, his hand pointed at them both. "I've always wondered what would happen if both of you died."
SNAP
Olivier howled as fire swirled up around him, engulfing him in a fiery tornado. Ed stared as he listened to Olivier scream, his flesh and bones burned away in the fire that just wouldn't go out. He could feel the heat from the fire, as close as they were to it, but the fire never touched them.
When the fire finally went out, Ed saw Mustang standing there, hand held out and just finally relaxing from its snapping stance. The one-eyed Roy looked at Elric. "Sorry. Did you want to do that?"
Elric just smiled. "And let you miss all the fun?"
"You're never that generous.”
“I’m always generous when it comes to you.”
Ed just stared at the two of them.
Roy came running up to them a moment later, pausing for a moment as he saw the scorched earth and the ashes in the center of the burned area. He looked at his older self, then sighed. "Great. How am I supposed to explain this to my superiors?"
Elric looked at him and shrugged. "I'm sure we can think of something."
- 16
- 17
- 18
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Time's Scar