Fullmetal Alchemist: The Way To The Top

Chapter 4: Turn

Everyone was so happy about Al coming back to his original body, that nobody noticed soldiers coming from behind. There were three of them, each carried a huge sniper gun. They stood on a half fallen wall at the other end of the huge place.

When the brothers' closest friends greeted Al and Ed, the Lieutenant helped the Colonel to come to the brothers. "Great job, Fullmetal." the Colonel said with a smile, "And welcome back, Alphonse." Ed and Al looked surprised at the Colonel. "Th-thank you, Colonel." the brothers answered. "How have you done it, Fullmetal? I think you had to sacrifice your Portal of Truth to bring Alphonse back and come back alive. Am I right?" the Colonel asked. "Yeah, I don't have the Portal of Truth anymore." The Major started crying. "You are such a wonderful human, Edward Elric. First you sacrificed your arm to bring your brother's soul back. Then you even sacrificed your alchemy for him. You have such an amazing brother, Alphonse Elric." With these words the Major closed Al in one of his breathtaking hugs.

In the meantime, the Lieutenant thought very hard of the transmutation. "Sir, do you think it could work for you as well?" she asked. "No," the Colonel answered, "I don't think so. Even if I could gain my eyesight back, I wouldn't be able to come back." The Lieutenant nodded silently. Her wound was getting worse. The Major noticed the look in her face. It must have been really bad, since she didn't show her pain normally. He ran to her and removed her hand from her throat so he could see the wound. "You are bleeding badly, Lieutenant," he said, "you should stop pushing yourself and go to the ambulance. You're very pale. You shouldn't wait." "I can't... not yet..." the Lieutenant said, pain could be heard in her voice, "I have to... protect the Colonel..." The Colonel didn't let her finish the sentence: "Don't push yourself for me. You really should get some rest. I need you to be back in charge as soon as possible. Your recovery will take much longer, if you let your wound to get much worse." He touched her gently. She was shivering. Probably from the blood loss. The Colonel put his hand to where he thought her neck was. In the end, his hand touched her on her left arm. It was covered with sticky fluid, which the Colonel considered to be blood. He wondered how was it possible that she could stand and fight in this state. Actually, as far as he could say, she had lost too much blood to be conscious. She was really a great fighter. He supported the most of her weight and said: "Now get some rest. You need the wound to be taken care of. I will be alright." The Lieutenant hesitated. She knew the Colonel was right, but she didn't want to leave him. Not in this state. He needed her. But she knew she was ordered not to die. On the end, she decided not to leave him, which meant she will most probably have to fight the death again.

A voice from behind called: "There he is! He betrayed the Fuhrer King Bradley! Kill him!" The Lieutenant knew the Colonel was in danger. She looked around. Luckily, just a few feet away, she found a gun lying on the ground. She lifted it and stepped in front of the Colonel. There were three soldiers pointing with their guns on the Colonel. The gun she lifted was very similar to those the soldiers had, so it could cover the distance.

The Colonel tried to identify, where the voice came from. Most probably, it will take a while until he will get his three-dimensional orientation again. She controlled if she had enough shots. There were six. That meant she had two tries with each soldier. Maybe she will need it. Her hands weren't as stable as they used to be. She was starting to get dizzy. The Major looked for a gun as well but he found none. He could try and use his alchemy but they were to far. To use his alchemy, he had to touch the object he wanted to transmute. May couldn't do anything as well, she wasn't able to throw her arrows that far away. Ling and Lan Fan were both used to fight when the enemy was close to them. Ed and Al were watching the scene, horror in their eyes. Izumi wasn't able to perform her strongest alchemy after the hard fight. They all wanted to do something, but they all knew the only possibility was to rely on the Lieutenant, the best sniper in Amestris. They all whispered: "You can do that." and "Lieutenant."

The Lieutenant was too weak to shoot with that huge gun, so she leaned back on the Colonel. That was when he figured out the situation. He only didn't know, how many enemies were there. He supported the Lieutenant and hoped she could shoot well, even though he doubted her aim right now. She aimed carefully and hit the first soldier in his heart. She needed to shoot quickly, not giving them chance to counter attack. She aimed on the second soldier and hit him in his head. There was only one left. She aimed and pulled the trigger. The shot flew just a few inches away from its target. Then she aimed for the second time, hitting the soldier in his throat. The soldiers didn't expect the attack. They stayed with surprise, only watching with horror how the gun moved. Thanks to the Lieutenant's missed shot, the last soldier hat enough time to shoot. He pulled the trigger in the same moment as the Lieutenant.

The Colonel heard a shot from distance and in a second he felt the Lieutenant fall against him. "Lieutenant!!!" he screamed with fear. She landed in his arms and didn't move. The Colonel placed his hand on her chest. It wasn't moving. He felt blood under his fingers. "No," he whispered, "It cannot be. You can't die before I do!" He pulled the Lieutenant closer. There was no reaction. "Come on!" He whispered. "You are not allowed to die. Stay with me. Please!"

Everyone gathered around them as a while ago around Alphonse and Edward. The Lieutenant's hazel eyes were now wide open and lifeless. Blood was dropping from her body. She laid motionless in the Colonel's arms. The Colonel's shirt was soaked. He whispered something to her. No one spoke. The Major cried on the ground. He was shocked with the courage she fought with. He was sure she knew it could cost her life. But he didn't want to admit she was gone. There were only a few soldiers who showed they were human. She had no enjoyment in killing. Everyone in the Mustang team was the same from this point of view. That was the reason why the Major always liked the team.

Ling and Lan Fan stood a little bit farther away from the others. They knew neither the Colonel, nor the Lieutenant very good, but the scene they were witnessing broke their hearts. Ling was still very thankful for their help when Lan Fan was wounded. May cried again. Ed and Al cried a little bit too. Now they realized, how much they were thankful to the Lieutenant and the Colonel. Ed remembered as she encouraged him to get their bodies back. They were sort of parental figures to him during their journey. They had always been there for him when he needed them. Al realized all of that sooner. He looked in disbelief. The pure happiness of having his body back was away in just a few seconds.

Izumi escaped her husband's hug and stepped silently towards the Colonel. When she came closer, she heard the Colonel whispering: "Riza, please don't go. Please... I need you..." She knelt in front of him and said: "Colonel, it's Izumi Curtis." He nodded. "Let me see, if I can do anything for her." The Colonel lowered his grip on the Lieutenant a little. Izumi placed her hand gently on Riza's head, on the bottom of her face. She felt a light bumping of her pulse, though slow and irregular. Then she placed her hand on the Lieutenant's chest. She wasn't breathing, but after a while, Izumi felt a light pulse. "It's not over yet," she said gently to the Colonel. He lifted his head, hope was in his face. It was the best thing he has heard. "Maybe I can do something, let me try." Izumi continued. The Colonel slowly let go his tight hold. "She's... still..." He said with hope. Izumi took Riza in her arms and laid her gently on the ground. Everyone watched as she clapped her hands and pushed them on a huge and deep wound on Riza's chest. One moment later, a bullet escaped from the wound. Then Izumi clapped her hands again and pushed them on the wound. The bleeding suddenly stopped. Izumi stopped also the bleeding on Riza's throat. At first, nothing happened. Then Riza gasped. The Colonel has never been so happy. He sighted with relief. He stretched his arms. Izumi took his hand and placed it on Riza's head. Then he lifted her. He held her very gently, as if she was made up of glass. "Lieutenant" he said, "Lieutenant, can you hear me?" There was no answer. The only movement, which came from her, was her breathing. The Colonel was happy even for that. "I don't think she will wake very soon," Izumi said, "she has lost much blood. It is a miracle she is still alive." "Yes," the Colonel said, "I don't know how should I thank you, Ms. Curtis." Izumi smiled. "Don't worry, Colonel. Now just take care of yourself and your Lieutenant."