We Go Together

Battle in the Depressing Rain

As I'm still sleeping, I hear strange noises. Noises that sound like Edward, being in discomfort.

The thought of him being in trouble wakes me up. When I gain my full consciousness, Edward sits up agrresively with a gasp/scream.

"Ed!" I go sit next to him. "What's wrong?"

"You were dreaming," Alphonse says. "Weren't you, brother?"

Edward sighs and looks down. "Yeah. Not important, though. Just a small nightmare. Everyone gets them, right?" He smiles brightly so that we can think he's okay. But I know better than that.

In spite of the early hour, we get dressed and head outside. Edward wanted to see what happened with Tucker and Nina, so we're on our way to find that out. When we reach a door, Edward puts up his hand to knock, but hesitates.

I place my hand gently on his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to know?" 

His facial expression turns into a secure part frown. "I have to."

Before he can knock, the door opens and reveals Riza Hawkeye.

"You three are up early," she says. "What do you need?"

"We wanted to know what happened with Nina and Tucker," Edward says.

Riza's eyes show confusion. "You don't know?"

"Know... what?" I say.

Riza sighs. "Tucker was going to get stripped of his certification. But he was found dead, him and Nina."

"What?" Edwards eyes widen. "They're both dead?"

Riza nods. "They were murdered. I was just heading to the scene right now." She starts to walk away from us. Edward follows her, so do Alphonse and I.

"We're coming with you," Edward says.

"No," Riza turns around and looks at Edward directly in the eye. "The three of you are to stay here."

She walks away from us until she's completely out of our sight.

Edward runs a hand through his blond bangs and sighs, then he rubs his forehead. "I can't believe it."

I take one step closer to him and place my hand on his arm. "Ed..."

He looks at me with sad, yellow eyes.

"We couldn't do anything to save Nina... and we couldn't avoid them getting murdered..."

I feel Edward trembling slightly. Without a second thought, I put my arms around him and rest my head on his shoulder. 

"You can't beat yourself up about that," I say.

Edward doesn't move, and he doesn't say anything either.

"You have your two legs, so use them," I continue. "Move forward. And don't cling to anything."

He looks up, recognizing the words he had said to Rose a few days ago before we left Liore. I smile ever so faintly at him, just to make sure he's okay.

Edward then rests his forehead on mine. "Thanks." He smiles lightly, but almost immediately, the faint curl in his lips fades away, and he looks sad again. I feel miserable at myself for not being able to do anything to make him feel better.

We go outside, and the rain is still falling. We walk in silence until we reach some sort of a fountain. Edward sits down. I sit next to him and Alphonse sits at the other side, and we just listen to (and feel) the rain fall all around us.

"I've been thinking about it..." Edward says. "We put all our trust in Alchemy, but in the end, what is it? It's the science of understanding and constructing matter, and that the whole world is a flow. Even death is a part of the flow and we must accept it. I thought I understood it... But I didn't understand anything. And Mom proves that."