The Winged Alchemist

Chapter 10: Revealing the Truth

Edward opened his eyes to pain filling him. He felt the hole in his chest healing rapidly and he gasped. He shut his mouth tight to muffle his scream. When it was finally over, he panted and shut his eyes. "Ed, are you ok?" He looked up and saw Winry and Alphonse staring at him with disbelief reflection in their eyes. Ed said nothing and tried to catch his breath. Winry cleared her throat. "Edward, what happened to you?" She waited calmly for him to answer.

Al then stepped up. "Brother, what exactly was Hughes? He could not have been human. Was he a different type of humunculis? Are….you?" He stopped, feeling uncomfortable with what he just asked his older brother. Ed sighed and felt he could no longer hide the truth. He opened his mouth to say something when Roy burst into the room, coming to his side, picking him up by the collar.

Ed gasped for breath as Roy held him tight. "Colonel, stop, your gonna kill him!" Al tried to pry off Roy from Ed, but Roy pushed him to the ground. Ed saw his look of confusion and sadness in his dark eyes. He burned into his golden eyes with determination of the truth. "What the hell have you done with Maes, where is the real one!" He sobbed and let a tear fall.

Letting go of him, Ed fell back to his bed and took in air, rubbing his throat. He then watched as Roy fell to his knees, sobbing like a frightened boy who had lost his best friend or brother. "What happened to him, what happened, what happened…?" Everyone could hear his confusion and fell silent. Edward stood carefully and went to his side. He put a hand on the Colonel's shoulder, catching his attention. Roy looked up at him and showed his tear stained cheeks, this wasn't the first time he cried that day. "Colonel, I…" Ed looked down at him, feeling his own sadness catching up with him. He looked back at Roy.

Helping him up, Ed sat him on the bed. He sighed again. "Hughes was a demon." Ed saw Roy and Al make a face of exaggeration. Winry just nodded for him to go on. "It's hard to believe, but he was, as I partly am. I am half demon and half…" He stopped before he could finish. Winry looked at him. "You are part angel." Roy looked at him strangely and Al the same. Ed looked down, knowing they did not believe him. But he was wrong…

Winry looked at him and smiled. "Edward, go on, I believe you, and I am sure that Roy and Al do to." Ed went on and explained about the mysterious woman who had come to him in the alley and how she saved him. He then retold how she took him back to witness who had almost killed him. When he saw it was Hughes, he was speechless.

When Ed finished his story, Roy looked up at him, at a loss of words. "But that can't be possible… you can't be…he couldn't have been…" Roy put his head in his hands and wept silently for his lost friend. Winry held her breath and went to Roy…and hugged him. He stiffened with surprise, but gave in to her. He continued to weep and Winry rubbed his back, trying to relax him. She looked up at Ed and smiled at him, reassuring him. He smiled back and went to Al, who gave him a hug, knocking the two to the ground. "Al, what was that for?" "You could have been killed so many times! What if I never got to say good-bye?" Ed looked at him and saw him thinking about the story in his head.

Winry stood up and looked at Ed. "Edward, do you still have the—uh—well, can you really…?" He smiled at her. "I can still fly if that's what you're asking." She shifted sheepishly and looked at him. "If you are half demon and half angel, does that mean that you are no longer a person?" He looked down and grunted. "Yup." She gave him a hug. "That doesn't bother me any." She bent his head down and kissed his forehead, letting him know that he was still equal.

The door to the room opened and Riza walked in. She had a bandage wrapped around her forehead, but she was fine for the most part. She walked over to Roy and sat next to him. She then wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into her. He did the same. Ed nodded at Winry and his brother that it was time to leave them alone.

The sun was setting and a beautiful mix of orange and red covered the sky. Edward watched as Roy carefully emptied Maes Hughes' ashes into the grave that he and Al had dug. The Colonel finished doing so and let a tear slide down his cheek. He then set the urn down and threw a rose into the hole on top of his best friend's ashes. He then turned and walked to Riza, who rubbed his back and whispered comforting words into his ear.

Al tugged on Ed's red coat. "C'mon Ed, we should say something to Mustang." Ed shook his head. "No, I don't think I would help any. I was the one who did this, I don't feel right even being here." Winry put a hand on his left shoulder. "Ed, I think it would help if you went over there and said something." He tried to protest, but she pointed towards his destination and said "march!" Walking towards the Colonel, Ed sighed and thought about what he was going to say. Reaching the man, he opened his mouth to say something, but Roy held his hand up. "You don't have to say anything, Fullmetal. I understand what you had to do and I am glad you did it. Hughes was my best friend and I don't think I could have handled seeing him the way he was." He smiled at Ed and walked away with Riza. All he could do was stand there and gape.

That night, Ed lay in his bed, thinking about what Roy had said. He sighed and thought about Elicia and Gracia. "I wish I didn't have to do what I had done." He rolled over to face the wall. Closing his eyes, Ed saw the woman that had started his new and difficult life.

Ed stared at her and said nothing. She carefully came closer to him and put her hand under his chin, making him look into her eyes. He did what she intended him to do and waited. "You wonder why I chose you to become the Dark Angel. I chose you because you were the only one that I could trust with this duty." He looked at her and frowned. "I don't want to if it means taking away friends and family." She looked at him and smiled. "This will bring on many difficult tasks for you to endure, but I would never have set them to you if you could not handle it."

Ed looked up at her. "What am I supposed to do if I hurt somebody? What if I let something happen to Alphonse or Winry? I couldn't handle that!" He tried t walk away, but something held him in his spot. She put her hands on his shoulders and went down on her knees. "I want you to remember something." He listened to what she was telling him and he felt her making him more relaxed. When she was done with what she had to say, she started to fade. Before she was fully gone, Ed stopped her. "I have never asked you your name?" The woman smiled. "My name is Sabina."

Waking up from the dream, Ed looked around to see the moon shining in thru his window. He saw Al sleeping silently in his bed. Looking to his side, Ed saw Winry snoozing by his side. He smiled and kissed her gently and carefully got up from the bed. He went to the drawer on his nightstand and pulled out a journal he had had for so many years. Opening to a fresh page, he began to write down what Sabina had told him so he could never forget.

With every ending comes also a new beginning. With every disappointment comes a new opportunity for success.

With every mistake comes a new and valuable lesson to be learned. With every setback comes a new position from which to move forward.

With every frustration comes the energy to move to a higher level of achievement. With every challenge comes a new strategy for taking action.

With every time of darkness comes the chance to make a real difference by shining your own special light. With every sadness comes a deeper appreciation for the joys that life can hold.

With every difficulty comes a new level of strength to be gained. With every loss comes an increased determination to win.

Though life has many pitfalls and problems, there is a positive side to every one of them. Choose to see and live that positive reality, and no problem will be a problem for long.

As Ed finished writing these words down, he read them over. When he was done, he crawled carefully back into his bed and went back to sleep, ready for anything that was to come…

The Positive Side, which is above was by Ralph Marston. I did nothing to it and do not own any part of it. This is the last chapter of the story. I hope you all liked The Winged Alchemist and I hope to have all of you read the sequel that I will be writing for it soon! Tell me ho this chapter was and how you liked it! Thank you for reading this story and I look forward to your reviews on later stories! The sequel will be called The Winged Alchemist: When Legends Clash! It will be a crossover of two other things! Coming soon!