Death

Envy had promised that he would be by Edward's side until the angel's death. Ed had wanted to turn himself into a homunculus, but Envy had explained that it was a fate far worse than death. But, if the sin dies, then what was the boy to do? Does him simply move on, like everyone wants him to? Suicide was his other option, but it would cause great greif to anyone who knew and cared for him.

Whiping the tears from his little episode, the golden boy got up and walked over to the other side of the room, where a spare bed was put up for him. Quietly, he crimbed onto it and layed down, facing the sin's bed and watching the steady pattern of breaths taken in and let out.

Soon, sleep nawed on Ed like an annoying bug, and as much as he wanted to, he couldn't stop his eyes from closeing...

-Flashback/Dream-

He remembered opening his eyes to a dark room, and seeing all but one homunculus around. He could see that he was sitting in something wet - a puddle of his own blood? It was too dark to see. - but his body was already numb to it.

How long was I out for? I don't know...

Dante, and the rest of the homunculi, had found out about the relationship Envy and him shared. He didn't remember much of the conversation, but he did know that Dante wasn't very happy. He had watched as Envy arrgued with her, defending them, and it had grown into a fight. Five(1) against two. The odds of them winning was very thin, but they faught anyway.

We never stood a chance..

The fight had gone on over three hours, and being the human he is, Edward couldn't handle anymore, and must have passed out. Whatever happened after that he didn't know, but he must have been out for hours in order for them to have put everything together.

There was so much...So many of them...They just kept coming out...

Shaking in fright, Edward slowly crawled to the center of the dark room, where the sorce of the noise was comming from. Ed was a mess; his hair was out of it's normal braid, clotted with blood. Dryed blood was also found on his face, and his torn clothes. He was hurting all over, but that didn't stop him from trying to get to his destination; the transmutation circle with the puking homunculus in the middle of it.

I was almost there...I could've saved him...

Though, he continued on, flinching when his real limbs landed on something sharp. "Just..A bit more..," the boy mumbled to himself as he grew closer to the homunculus sealing circle. With a pained smile on his lips, he pushed himself onto his knees and clapped his hands. He was just about to place them on the circle when a female voice stoped him.

"Hold it right there, Fullmetal," Lust said, walking into the abandoned factory. Gluttony followed shortly behind her, mumbling that he was hungry with a finger in his mouth. "I thought you were smart enough to know what would happen if you disturbed a transmutation..." Edward didn't need to look to see that she was smirking.

But they stoped me...

"Like you would know! He's going to die if I don't do anything!" Edward snaped, turning to face the woman.

"He is going to die anyway, precious son of Hohenheim, even if you do anything to 'help' him," yet another woman's voice, and Ed turned to see Dante. Automaticly, he narrowed his eyes at her, but that only seemed to amuse her even more. However, she put on a stern face, "It was all his own fault, Edward. He knew he would be serverly pushished for going against my orders."

"He was your son! How could you?!" Edward growled, glaring at the woman in the ballgown dress.

"Simple: He was of no use anymore," she explained, and gave a small shrug. "He was a mere tool and nothing else. Just like when he was my son. Do you really believe that he would be stupid enough to drink mercury? No, I had to do it myself. I hoped that making our son deathly sick would cause Hohenheim to pay more attention to us, but he didn't. For shame, though...He was the best one." Then, she began to shake with laughter. A laughter that would make babies cry, and sent shivers down the young alchemist's back.

Pure laughter...She found it amusing, killing her only son for the second time...I've never met such a monster as her...How could you love someone as mentaly ill as her?

Edward was just about to get up and show her a piece of her mind when Envy hurled once more behind him. He had almost forgot that the sin was still in trouble. Turning to look, the boy caught a glimps of his sin at that moment.

Envy's long, tinted green hair stuck to almost every part of his sweaty body as his body heaved up another stone. As the sin panted for air, Edward glanced over the rest of his body. His skin was turning an sickly pale color that could almost past for a shade of green, and his bones had become more visible.

Without any warning, Edward instently remembered the time he killed Greed. Said sin had thrown up a few stones, as well.

It was like watching Greed's death all over again..I was the cause of this one, too.

By this time, Dante's laughter had died down. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Wrath barging into the room.

"Master, the millitary is here! They know Pride's secret! We can't hold them all off for long."

Cursing, Dante turned to Lust. "Lust, you and Gluttony finish the job off, but don't harm the boy." They mumbled a 'Yes, Master' before the woman left with Wrath to make her escape.

It was just me, and them, then, and I was getting desperate...

Lust, however, didn't make an attempt to do anything once her master was gone. She simply stood there and watched Envy heave another stone. Was she the only one of her kind to see that this was very wrong? Just as she turned to leave, Edward cried out:

"Wait, Lust!"

She turned her head in his direction, "Yes, Edward?" She asked, using his first name as if they weren't enemys. It was a rare show of affection for anything, but given the situation, the last thing the boy needed was to be mocked.

Lust never called me by my first name, and I knew instently that she would help me as much as she could.

"Is...Is there anyway I can help him?" He asked, and by the tone of his voice, she could tell that he was on the brink of losing it. "I..can't lose him, too...There must be some way, right?" He then turned to her, and she could see that his eyes were glossed over with unshed tears. Even as his love was dying, he refused to let the enemy see him cry.

'Stubbern fool..,' she thought, and sighed. "Gluttony, go to the others, I'll be there in a minute.." She muttered quietly, and walked over to the sealing circle. If her former, more 'I act before I think' self, she wouldn't have bothered to help the boy.

I knew I could trust her, though. She was always...different from the others.

She looked around the circle until she spoted what she was looking for. "That, over there..," she said, her silky voice calm. She pointed to a small bag of what she guessed was something of Envy's. "Take that away, and quickly get him off the circle...That should work, but I wouldn't know for sure.."

"Well...Goodbye, Fullmetal," she mumbled, flashing a small smile at the boy. "And good luck," with that, she hurried to join the others.

That was the last I heard from her. Dante must have realized what had happened and killed her...I regret not being able to thanking her...

When she was out of his sight, Edward quickly did as she told him to.

Minutes later...The milliary found me...

Riza rushed down a corridor and kicked open the door to her left, quickly sticking her gun up for anything that would jump out with her. To her surprise, she found Edward huddled over something that looked like a green bush. Quickly putting her gun away, she rushed over to the boy. "Thank God you're okay, Edward," she told him, slowing her pase as she neered him. It was only then that she could see him rocking gently, and whispering something over and over agian.

She quickly ran out into the corridor and yelled that she had found Edward.

Roy arrived next...Then everyone was there..

"Fullmetal?" Roy qestioned, comming up behind the boy. He let out a gasped when he saw who Ed was holding onto. "Edward, what are you doing!?" When he didn't respond, he kneeled next to the boy and heard the him whisper something over and over again.

"...Don't leave me, too...Don't leave me...Don't leave-"

"Edward, you have to let go of him! This is not the time to feel sentimental towards the enemy!" Roy commanded him, placing a hand on the boy's left shoulder roughly in hopes to snap the boy out of it.

I didn't know I was crying...Or what I was saying...I felt numb...

Roy could feel the boy flinch at his touch, and gasped when Ed looked up at him. Tears streamed down his face, and his eyes were a duller gold than normal. "H-He's...He's not responding, Roy..," Edward whispered, and Roy knew something was terribly wrong; Fullmetal never called him by his name. "He won't wake up! Help him! Please...I love him.."

"Fullmetal?" Roy called, as the boy turned back to the homunculus in his arms. When the boy didn't respond, he shook him a little. "Edward?"

"EDWARD!!"

The next thing I remember, I was in the hospital, and Al was beside me. Envy was no where in sight.

Next thing Edward knew, he woke up in a hospital, on a bed. Looking around confusingly, he spoted his brother resting his head on his arms next to him. "Al..?" He asked, and shook the boy lightly.

"...Brother..?" Al asked, still half asleep. "BROTHER! You're awake!" Al exclaimed, throwing his arms around the elder Elric.

With a light chuckle, Edward pated his brother back. "Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

At that, Alphonce's expression turned worried and he let go. "Well...It's just, you were out for two days. Everyone was worried that you turned out like Envy..."

The happiness was sucked out of Edward's face as he recalled what had happened two days ago. Suddenly, he was up and on his feet. "Where's Envy?!"

"Brother, calm down! You shouldn't get all worked up, you'll open your wounds!" Al scolded him lightly, and tried to bring him back to his bed. "Envy is-" Al was cut off by a man walking into the room.

He had a clipboard in his hand, making them assume he was a doctor. "Mr. Elric, is it?" He asked, looking up from his paperwork at Edward.

"Just call me Edward; Mr. Elric reminds me of someone."

The doctor completely ignored the boy's request. "I understand that you are Mr. Envy's...boyfriend?"

Edward blushed at the word, and noticed the confused glance Al had shot him. He would have to explain later. "Yeah, so what if I am?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow, then frowned. "It's just...Sorry, Mr. Elric, but it seems that Envy has gone into a coma. There is a slim chance he will make it..." the man trailed off as he watched, curiously, as Edward ran past him.

I didn't even know what room he was in, but I ran, anyhow.

Al followed close behind his brother into the room, and patted his shoulder as the blond began to cry, "Brother, Envy's going to be fine, you'll see, he'll come out of it soon. He's stronger than he looks, we all know that..."

Edward sniffed and rubbed his eyes, embaressed that his brother saw him cry. "Y-Yeah, Al. You're right.."

However, as the months past, even Al lost hope..I didn't, though..

"Brother, you have to move on. Even if he does wake up, there's a very slim chance that he will remember you at all...What will you do then?"

"...I'll take care of him, and pray that he remembers me.."

-End Flashback-

-While Edward's Still Sleeping-

The door to Envy's room slowly opened. It was close to midnight, and there was only a few doctors and nurses around. A man who looked to be in his mid-forty's quietly walked though, a stuffed teddy bear in one of his giant hands. Fixing his glasses, as if it would help him see better in the dark room, Hohenhiem of light entered the room occupied by his two sons.

Luck must be on his side, as he noticed that Edward was fast asleep. If the golden-haird boy had been awake, Hohenheim was sure he wasn't going to be allowed in this room. He would have to be extra quiet.

He closed the door behind him before walking over to his eldest son's bed. His ageless face wrinkled as he frowned, taking note that Envy wasn't in the condition he was hoping for. Pulling up a chair, the almost-imortal man sat next to his green-haird son. "...William...What happened to you?" He asked, his deep voice vibrating the room slightly as he placed the teddy bear next to the sin.

He sat in silence, listening to the resperator feed Envy air, and the beeps of the heart monitor. Finally, he spoke up. "William, even though you probably can't hear me right now, I wish to talk to you..," he spoke, pausing to sigh, "Do you hate me?" There was still no responce, not that the man wanted one.

Taking this advantage, he continued, "I know, I have been a horrible father; abandoning you and Dante, and having the nerve to start up another family...But, there is something you need to know that I'm sure your mother never told you," he paused again, the sound of Edward moving in his sleep startling him.

His eyes wondered back over to his older son, who hadn't moved at all. "...This is harder than I thought..," he said with an awkward smile. Hohenheim's frown then returned as he went on, "Getting back to what I was saying, your mother was the one who made you sick...When you were young, as you know, you stumbled upon my lab and accidently ate the solidified form, which is harmless to the body. Your was pouring liquified mercury, which is very harmful to the body, into your 'medicine', claiming that it would cure you of the poison. This I didn't find out about it until after your death, which I regret to this day, weither you want to believe me or not.

"She had hoped that if you got sick, I would quit my studies and come back to her. However, it didn't work, and she grew tired of taking care of you. Soon after your 18th birthday, she added an extra dose of mercury, and that did it in for you. I was the one to find you later, dead and pale...," He paused with a gasp, feeling something roll down my cheek. Surprised, he lifted a finger and whiped the tear away. With a forced chuckle, he said, "Would you look at that..you old man's getting all teary..

"William...What I want you to know that when I found you like that, I thought my world was over. I had knelt down and picked up your pale body and cried while holding you...I have never cried as much as I did that day...After several hours, I was finally calm enough to bring you into my lab. Using everything I knew about human transmutation, I attempted to bring you back. When I learned that it wasn't you I brought back, I couldn't take any more of being a failure of a father, and left," Remembering the past brought more tears to his eyes, and he removed his glasses to whipe them away.

"Dante must have fed you the stones, turning you into a full homunculus...If I had known that, I would have come back to you both...What I'm getting at, William, is that I'm sorry...Truely sorry for leaving you, and there isn't a day that passes by that I wonder what would have happened if I payed more attention to you...

"Even if you never forgive me for it, I want you to know that I will always love you, and always have." With that, Hohenheim of Light got up from the plastic chair. He then glance at Edward, who squirmed from, what he guessed, a horrid nightmare. Silently, he turned and left.

Unknown to Hohenheim, and the sleeping Edward, the moment their father opened the door to leave, a single, cold tear rolled down the homunculu's cheek, and the sin whispered:

"N-No...I don't h-hate you, Father.."

-Edward's Nightmare-

"Brother, you have to move on..."

"I don't know what to do without you..."

"Help him!"

"The last thing Envy would want is waking up to see what condition you're in now..."

Beep...Beep...Beep...

"Please..."

"Sorry, Mr. Elric, but it seems that Envy has gone into a coma. There is a slim chance he will make it..."

"T-There must be something I can do!"

"You don't know a damn thing Envy would want! None of you do..."

Beep...Beep...Beep...

"He was merely a tool and nothing else..."

"...I love him..."

"He's not going to die!!"

Beep...Beep...Beep...

"Anything!"

"Thank God you're okay, Edward!"

"He brought flowers for you; though, knowing you, you would probably just burn them or something..."

"Normal comas generally last about a month."

Beep...Beep...

"He promised me!"

"This is not the time to feel sentimental towards the enemy!"

"All we can do is wait, and see what the future holds.."

"...I miss you..."

"If Envy indeed 'wakes up', he will mostlikely be a vegetable, and not remember anything..."

Beep... ...Beep... ...

"Maybe we could go for a walk later?"

"So many of them...They just kept coming out..."

"Brother, Envy's going to be fine, you'll see, he'll come out of it soon. He's stronger than he looks, we all know that.."

Beep... ... ... ...Beep... ... ... ... ...

"He won't wake up!"

"Wake Up...Wake Up..."

"Wake up..."

"Why isn't he waking up?!"

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep

"O'Chibi-san..I promise that I will never leave you."

WAKE UP!!

-Nightmare End-

Edward gasped awoke, panting as his sweat covered body strained for air. He quickly looked towards the window. 'Night already? Must've fallen asleep..' He thought, and sighed as he got up.

Suddenly, he became aware of the flat noise he heard, and quickly rushed over to his lover's bed, and checked the heart monitor. Just as the noise showed, it was dead flat meaning-

"NO! Envy! Envy wake up!" Edward yelled, gently shaking the sin in hopes to wake him. "Envy, wake up! WAKE UP! You promised me!!" He yelled as the night-shift doctors rushed in and tried their best at returning a heart-beat.

"Clear!"

A faint beep...

"Again, clear!"

Nothing

"We're losing him!"

"Clear!"

The voices became numb to Edward as he sat on the floor, forgotten by the staff. When the line was still flat, the boy could feel his eyes burn from tears as reality hit him like a brick:

Envy was dead.

He was gone, and there was no way of getting him back...

"You promised me you would never leave me..," Edward whispered, though he knew no one could hear him.

As the doctors wheeled Envy's deceased body out of the room, the fallen angel could barely take note that someone was talking to him. Everything around him seemed to be in fast motion, and he was stuck on slow.

In the distence, a church bell rang.

However, as they wheeled Envy out, something fell off of the bed, and Ed went to go pick it up. It was a bear, a tan one, to be exact, with golden eyes like his own. On the back of it, he noticed, was a letter. Opening it up, and through blurry eyes, he read:

"To William,

In case you didn't hear me...I am very sorry. To both you, and my other two boys, forgive me for leaving you all. Please forgive me for not being in your life, William, and not realizing your mother's evil ways. If not, I will understand. I still love you, all of you.

Love,

Dad.

P.S.,

Happy Birthday...This bear is my gift. I remember you had one with you when you were a child. You never seemed to let go of it..."

With shaky hands, Edward embraced the toy, overwhelmed with so many emotions - new and old - that they all came pouring out as he began to cry.

And, in the distence, a church bell rang for the final time, signaling midnight.

Envy - Time Of Death : 12:00AM

"Happy birthday, Envy.."

A/N:

(1) Discounting Envy, and Greed.

Another thing, this is the actural ending, I've decited. I will make the other two endings eventuraly, but this one took me too long to make, and I'm quite tired of writing -sweatdrop-

I do hate myself for wanting this ending as the main one, but at least Envy died happy. Hohenheim's words touched his heart so much, that it made him slip away forever.

This fic was inspired by Skillet's song Comatose.