Orphaned

The 'little brother' was more than willing to comply, "Finally." He muttered, "I thought the talking would never stop." Before he did anything else, he looked back to Al, "Al, go inside, I don't want you-"

"Ed!" The said boy faintly heard Roy shout his name, but didn't really register it.

"Brother!" That one he heard. He turned his attention back to his younger brother, who had a distinct look of fear on his features.

"Al..." Ed gasped out, looking down to his stomach where three very familiar talon-like fingers were emerging through his body.

In an instant, Lust retracted her fingers back to their normal state and Envy grinned, "Nice shot, but I wanted to play a bit." He pouted before shrugging and spun around a few times, building up speed before kicking Ed hard in his spine. The boy's body snapped back nearly in half at the impact and no sooner another leg was coming to collide with his side.

"Ed!" Roy shouted again and moved to stop the assault, but was once again held back by Greed.

"Let's finish this quickly." He suggested, grinning as the man opposite him glared.

"Kanone!" Winry yelled, looking to Ed in horror, "Help him!"

Golden eyes glanced to Ed's bleeding and bruised body, "The boy's already gone." He decided, turning his attention back to Wright, "We'll accomplish what we came here for and return to the company once I'm finally back in power."

"How can you say that? Don't you care?" Her voice was getting more and more desperate and full of anger and betrayal by the moment.

"About Edward?" he asked, looking to the now-limp body, "Well, if I have to be honest, no."

"You bastard, you've been lying this entire time." Roy gritted his teeth, "You weren't planning on helping me at all, you only wanted to get your company back, to hell with everything else."

Kanone tilted his head in thought for a moment before nodding, "That's about right."

"I can't believe you...you told me we were helping those boys!" the blond cried, now near tears.

"Well, we were." He pointed out, "Honestly, Winry, you say you know me better than anyone. You should have seen something like this coming."

Blue eyes snapped shut to block out the rain of tears she felt coming, 'He's right... this is how he's always been-- manipulating people and sacrificing whoever and whatever he had to in order to reach his goal and get what he wanted. In the end, the only thing that matters to him...is himself.'

"Well, if the talking is over..." In an instant Kanone's body lit on alchemic fire as the blue light flowed through him, illuminating his eyes in an even more unnatural way than normal. Despite her anger toward the boy, Winry stepped back out of range. She might want him to pay for Ed, but she wasn't completely blinded.

Roy, on the other hand, was furious. He turned his attention from Greed to Kanone, snapping several times as bursts of flame surrounded the boy, "You won't get away with that!" He promised, racing toward the brunette.

Kanone just chuckled, "Turning on your boss?" he asked, "Shouldn't you be after Envy or even Lust? After all, they are the ones that so mercilessly killed your dear, precious Edward." His voice held a mocking tone that Roy just couldn't let drop.

"It's your fault in the first place, if you'd never lost control; if you'd never trusted Wright, Ed would still be alive!" With that, he reached the boy and aimed a punch straight at his face. Kanone was quick, though, and dodged to the side. Roy quickly found his new enemy behind him and a hard fist connected with his head, forcing him to stumble forward. "It'll take a lot more than that to knock me out." He growled, spinning around and rubbing the igniting cloth together to send long streams of flame straight at Kanone. Roy grinned as the brunette dodged the decoy and dashed to his side, snapping his fingers again to cause an explosion of flame right in the defending boy's path.

Kanone hissed as the earth immediately trembled and rose up in a quick burst to block most of the heat. He skid to an immediate stop and raised his arm to shield his face from the fire, forcing his body in the opposite direction away from the black-haired man. His feet weren't quite as quick as the rest of him, though, and he stumbled off balance for a split second. Roy took his opportunity to continue his assault and kick Kanone right in his side.

Not being fond of being on the losing side, Kanone turned his tables all too easily, grabbing Roy's foot and causing a small earthquake under the other. He jumped back away from the man, watching as he now lost his balance. As soon as Roy thought he was stable again, the ground under his feet shook violently and caused him to focus his energies on staying upright.

Wright took the distraction as an opportunity and nodded to Envy, who grinned and dashed toward the glowing alchemist. Kanone darted his gaze toward the green-haired boy and sent shockwaves through the ground toward him. The lithe boy flipped easily over the disturbances and landed back on solid ground, running again toward his target. Kanone narrowed his eyes, Wright had made the Sins specifically to combat his ability. Envy could easily jump over or dodge the tremors while Lust could stop them dead in their tracks by destroying the ground in front of her with her fingers. Gluttony was just too fat to budge, Greed was solid as steel, literally, and Sloth could turn her body to liquid and get out of any damage. Wrath could combine with the ground if necessary, which would probably stop or lessen any damage. Pride was probably the only one that couldn't withstand Kanone's assaults, which made the brunette curious. Why else would Wright make him?

The olive-eyed boy was snapped from his thoughts as Envy shouted something and jumped high up into the air again, bringing his foot down in an attempt to connect with Kanone's face. The latter raised his hand and grabbed the younger one's foot, gripping it tightly and yanking the boy out of the air, slamming him into the ground.

Envy gritted his teeth at the impact as Kanone had erupted the ground under him to form small spike-like protrusions that stuck into his back. He flipped back away from the boy as Lust rushed past him, her fingers sticking out like deadly swords. She wasn't the main threat, though, as Gluttony was barreling toward Kanone at the same time. The brunette narrowed his eyes and punched the ground, blue lights flowing with the tidal wave-like ripples in the ground, enhancing their power greatly. Lust came to Gluttony's defense and struck the ground right before the doddering boy, breaking the ground up. The waves of alchemically-enhanced ground hit the ruptured soil and collapsed on itself, only the dust and bits of rock spraying the target.

Sighing in annoyance, Kanone shook his head, 'Time to end this.' He thought, looking back to the direction Roy had been in. The man had regained his balance and was glaring once more at his former comrade, "What's with the sour look?" the brunette asked, tilting his head in question. Roy didn't answer the question, but simply charged at his enemy. Kanone grinned, this time his smile was pure excitement, 'Perfect.'

As the flame alchemist reached Kanone, the latter reached his hand out. He dodged the fist swung at his head and swept to the side to avoid the leg aimed at his side. Roy was left off guard and Kanone took the advantage, pushing his arm out to extend and pressing his hand, flat-palmed, to Roy's chest. Time froze for everyone as the pair stopped, their eyes locking. Roy gasped slightly as the ground under him and each of the Sins cracked and trembled. The seven stood on edged, looking down to the earth under their feet.

"The...hell?" Envy muttered, "What is this?"

"A transmutation circle." Pride noted, glancing down then to Wright.

The latter furrowed his brow, 'What could he...' Suddenly, he realized Kanone's intentions, "Get off of those!" he shouted.

"Too late." Kanone whispered as a bright, alchemic energy burst up through the circles. Roy tried to step away from the boy, but found that the blue light had adhered Kanone's hand to his chest and winced as it felt like his skin was being pulled off. With no other option, Roy went to attack. He raised his hand to snap his fingers, but the southern accent halted his advances. "I'd be careful if I were you..." he glanced to Roy, a knowing smirk in his eyes, "If you attack me, you're liable to cause yourself quite a bit of harm."

Roy gritted his teeth, knowing that Kanone was right. They were in too close of quarters to attack with such a random and unpredictable attack at his flames. He could control them to some extent, but the exact path of the burning oxygen couldn't be assumed. As long as they were this close, Roy was defenseless. "Bastard." He hissed in between clenched teeth.

The appropriately-nicknamed bastard chuckled, "Goodbye, Mustang, you've served your duties well. Time for you retirement." With that, a surge of energy left the power-hungry boy's hand and let it flow into Roy. He stepped back as the blue energy sparked between them, sending shocks into Mustang.

Just as he was about to put on the finishing touches, extending both arms toward Roy, Kanone heard a distinct shout that alerted him to a presence speeding toward the two rapidly, "You bastard!" Ed yelled. Kanone looked over in surprise, pure shock lining his features, as the blood-soaked yet still very alive blond raced toward them, gritting his teeth. His eyes narrowed with hatred at Kanone, "You'll pay for this!"

The brunette chuckled, realizing what had happened, "It seems they underestimated you." He noted, "Even though the exact item they gave you is the only reason you're still able to move at all."

"Damn it, I told you to take it from him." Wright glared at Envy.

"Hey, chill, I thought that'd be good enough." The latter muttered, "He looked dead."

"Let go of Mustang!" Ed demanded, ignoring the bickering going on behind him.

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Kanone informed him, "Really, the power's already surging through him, there's no stopping it now. It is a shame, but Roy Mustang knew what he was talking about when he said his life was forfeit. Though, I doubt he knew exactly."

"You won't get away with this." Ed's voice had dropped to a dangerously low level. He'd get his revenge on Kanone, but for now, he needed to help Roy out.

The blond turned to his older companion and raced toward him, stopping inches away from his now-glowing body. His hair was standing on end and the power had levitated his body a few inches off the ground, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging ajar just the slightest, staring at an unseen force in horror. All around him, the energy crackled and in a few places had even singed the pyro's clothes and skin. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Kanone warned as Ed reached a hand out to touch his boyfriend's cheek.

Ed glared back but hesitated, he knew he shouldn't touch Roy, but he couldn't just do nothing. 'Alright.' He thought, glancing down at the stone hanging around his neck, 'Maybe I can interrupt the flow of energy with alchemy. If I introduce a different pattern or a different kind of power, then it should short circuit the whole thing and dissipate the energy.' He had it all figured out in his head and nodded to himself; it would definitely work. He stood back a step and reached his hands out, clapping them once and felt the energy circulate through him, his hands now joined, the full circle had been completed and his own alchemic powers were seeping out in a...red light? He blinked, confused; his own powers looked like those of the Philosopher's Stone, but why?

Suddenly, Ed let out a sharp yelp as the stone around his neck burst, spraying crimson shards over both him and Roy. His body began to shake violently and his eyes glowed much like they had before, but this time no stone was the cause. "Brother!" Al shouted, having retreated to the house, but still watching from the doorway, "Brother, what's happening?!"

Ed was far from hearing his brother's voice, let alone responding. As always, Kanone had all the answers, "His body is reacting with the alchemy." He stated simply, glancing to the Sins, "He's of their kind, you both are, you can't perform alchemy without a huge backlash."

"But we've done alchemy before, I've seen Ed do it plenty!" the younger sibling said.

"Not without the aid of the stone." Wright reminded him, "Any alchemy you saw yourself or Edward do before that, wasn't real alchemy at all, just smoke and mirrors."

"That's not true." Al argued, fishing the small, headless Roy statue out of his pocket, "Ed did this!"

"Roy did that." The elder man corrected him, "Along with taking you two in his care, I also asked Roy to monitor your alchemic activities and intervene if necessary. I gave him a special little something that would allow him to transfer his own energies into whatever you two little boys decided to try and muta-.. I mean transmute." The sarcasm in his voice was undeniable.

"So all this time... we haven't been alchemists at all..." Al realized, frowning and looking to Ed, "Brother tried so hard...for nothing..."

"You can't do alchemy." Envy spoke up again, "None of us can."

"Try and you're toast." Greed added, motion to Ed, "Just like he is now."

'And his alchemic backlash will be just what is needed.' Kanone thought, watching it all unfold. Ed's crimson energy mingled with the calmer, more electric blue energy that Roy was emitting from his body. The spark attracted the two and their bodies were flung together.

Their gasps were heard at the impact and Ed looked up slowly, his eyes flickering between life and death, "Bastard..." he mumbled, barely audible. His gaze slowly shifted to his brother, who was crying and shouting his name, "Sorry...Al..."

Hesitantly, Roy's blue-tinted eyes gazed down to his boyfriend. A dry chuckle left his throat and he winced as the energies collided and sparked around them, "Looks like...this is the end of the line...huh, runt?"

Ed thought to argue, his brain was shouting all sorts of insults, but they soon died out. He just closed his eyes, and with the last bit of strength he could muster, hooked his arms around the taller man, resting his head on his shoulder and sighing. For once in his life, he was content, despite the pain, and muttered a small 'I love you'. Roy mimicked the motion of closing his eyes and wrapping his arms around the small boy, leaning his own head on Edward's, "I...I love you, too." He whispered, and this time he had truly meant it. He frowned just the slightest at realizing the boy's life had already left him. 'Fate is just that cruel, is it?' he asked himself before joining his love in another world.

"How cute." Kanone mocked the couple before stepping back almost to the entrance of the gates and placing his hands on the ground, a larger transmutation circle appearing around the entire yard and encompassing everyone in it. Wright cursed under his breath and looked around for an escape to find none. Suddenly, he saw Winry, terrified and watching the entire thing with a morbid gaze, run past Kanone to stay behind him where the ground was solid and safe. Wright noticed that the brunette was far too occupied to be paying attention to anything but his transmutation. He followed the girl out to watch everything unfold, standing only a few feet away from her.

Back inside the yard, chaos was ensuing. Each of the Sins looked around, wondering what exactly was going on, but knowing it wasn't good. "Wright, you bastard." Envy growled, "Get back here, you're not leaving us to die!"

"Sorry, Envy, but you failed in your purpose, you're of no more use to me." Said man replied.

Kanone looked once more to Ed and Roy, the slightest hint of regret mingling in his green-gold orbs. It was gone in an instant and the look of a murderer took place, his eyes as cold as steel as his hands came down onto the circle. The whole yard lit up in a blinding blue-white light and alchemic-centered winds whipped past Kanone, shredding his shirt and cutting his skin and the immense energy poured out of the gates, blowing past Winry and Wright.

"What's going on?" the blond asked, shielding herself from the energy the best she could, ducking to one side of the entrance and taking cover behind one of the walls that guarded the estate.

Wright did the same, pulling back to let the wall on the other side save him, "Kanone needed a sacrifice with a great deal of alchemic power to make the transmutation work." He said, watching in awe at the swirling energy, "It was designed just for this type of thing, rapidly deteriorating energy and transmuting it into a different kind. Basically, he's breaking the Sins' bodies down and turning their energy, which is all they're composed of, into a different, normal alchemic energy."

"And that causes such a deadly reaction?" she asked, wondering if Kanone was planning on the backlash he was receiving.

"He didn't plan on Edward being there." The gray-haired man noted, "Ed and Al were failed experiments, they weren't quite the same as the rest; their alchemic make up not only prohibits them from performing alchemy correctly, but if they were ever to attempt it around another source of such great power, the two energies would clash, like they are now, and cause a fatal alchemic storm."

"But Ed tried to perform alchemy, and Roy covered for him.. why didn't this happen then?"

The man shook his head, "That was nothing, creating a cheap little doll like that wouldn't provide enough energy to cause any sort of a backlash, a spark at the very least."

The storm suddenly died down and the light faded. Winry gasped at the sight before her-- the Sins were gone, completely and totally as if they had vanished into thin air. Roy and Ed's bodies had somehow managed to remain intact, but their lifeless corpses were only kept upright by the energies that encircled them. That slowly melted away and in an instant, the couple's bodies were lying on the ground, still firmly clasped in each other's arms. The blond closed her eyes tightly of the sight and Wright gritted his teeth, knowing if he didn't get out soon, he'd be as good as dead.

Kanone slowly opened his eyes, panting slightly from the exhaustion that such a feat had taken. His second-in-command took the opportunity and turned to run as far and as fast as he could. Winry, however, grabbed his arm, "Stop." She ordered, her eyes now cold and hard, which was mirrored in her voice. The pain of losing Ed had struck something in her and she knew that if it weren't for this man, Ed and Roy both would still be alive and happy.

"Get off of me, girl." He snapped, "I don't have time to play with you."

"I said hold on." She tugged him back as he tried once again to escape.

"And I said get off!" Without warning, Wright spun around and brought his hand up to smack Winry hard across her face, sending her flying into the wall only a foot away. Her head hit the brick with a thunk and she sunk to the ground, unconscious.

There was only a second before Kanone appeared around the corner, glancing to Winry's body and frowning. "Honestly, there was no need to do that." He said, looking to his subordinate and sighing, "Stephen, Stephen, Stephen... I don't know, after this, I'm just not sure I'll be able to trust you again."

"Go to hell, Kanone. I quit." It was a long shot, hell, it wasn't even barely a chance, but if it could save his life, he'd try it.

"Quit?" the brunette parroted, laughing casually, "You can't quit, Stephen."

"Why the hell not?" the older-looking one demanded. Suddenly, a shot was heard. Wright looked to his superior, a look of shock and pain on his face.

Kanone lowered his gun, the smoke billowing from its barrel, smiling that same smile he always had, "You're fired." He watched as the man he had blindly put too much faith in stumbled forward before sinking to his knees and reaching a hand out to Kanone. He paused in his actions as the shock set in throughout his body and closed his eyes, slumping against the wall.

The gun was dropped, losing Kanone's interest as quickly as Wright's life had left him, and the brunette now turned his focus to the estate once more. He slowly made his way back through the gates to see another body had joined Ed and Roy's. Al was clinging to the back of his brother's shirt, burying his face in the cloth and soaking it wet with tears. He had stopped calling his brother's name, and now the only thing that escaped his throat were choked sobs.

Kanone sighed to himself and approached the young boy, who barely recognized his presence. He felt a pang of pity for the young blond and stooped down next to him, placing a hand on his back, which was nearly shaking from crying so hard, "It must be hard to lose someone so dear to you." He said, idly.

"Leave me alone." Al whispered between breaths, trying to calm himself down but failing miserably.

"Come now, you know I never meant for Edward to be hurt."

"That doesn't make it alright, you meant for Roy to be killed!" The accusation was in no way false; Kanone had every intention of sacrificing Mustang's life.

"That's true, but you understand why I did it, don't you?" he asked, pulling the boy away from his brother's body, "Come on now, dear, leave the dead to rest."

"No, get off!" Al struggled weakly against the much stronger boy, but most of his energy had already been used up and he just wanted to sleep now; sleep and forget any of this ever happened; sleep and wake up and have it all be okay again.

Kanone just wrapped his arms around the small boy and closed his eyes, "You've nothing left for you here." He spoke after a small silence. His words stung, but they were nothing short of the truth, "Come with me, work for me back at the Underground."

"How?" Al didn't want to agree, but he didn't know what else he'd do, "I can't perform alchemy, I'd be of no use."

The brunette chuckled slightly, "Well, I hear there's an opening in management." Blue eyes darted up to him, asking a million unvoiced questions, "I know you're young, but you seem like a smart boy, I could use someone with a level head for once."

'There's a kindness in his eyes... just like Ed had... like Roy and Winry had... maybe he's not all bad... but...' Al glanced back once more to his brother's body, 'It could also just be a lie, like everything else he's said.'

"I've nothing more to gain here." Kanone interrupted his thoughts, "It's simply an offer. You can always go off on your own, live out your life and never have done a thing to prove you lived in this world, or you can come with me, and make something of your existence."

If anything, Kanone sure had a way with words. Al knew he was probably being manipulated, but he also knew that with Kanone, he might actually have a chance to help others and to prove his life wasn't in vain, "I..."

"Come on," he pressed, standing up and holding out a hand, "come with me and accomplish everything you and your brother talked about in your most secret moments." The promises of a better life, of a life worth living, got to the slightly-gullible boy and he nodded silently, rising to his feet, shakily, and placed his hand in Kanone's. The two headed out of the estate and Kanone quickly turned to the left, opposite of where Winry and Wright's bodies lie. Al started to look back for one last glance, but Kanone wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Don't look back." He muttered, "If you do, you might get caught in the past forever."

Al froze and turned his sights back in front of him, looking back to the ground, 'Ed lived his entire life regretting his past.' He thought, closing his eyes tightly and allowing Kanone to guide him, 'I won't do the same... I'll make something of myself. You'll see, brother, I'll be just as great as you.'