Morphed

Chapter Thirty Three

Haha...umm...

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I'll fight (fight), fight (fight), fight or be taken out alive

Fight (fight) fight, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide

Standing on the edge, am I better off dead?

How could I forget that I'm better than this

I've come too far to fade tonight

Fight, or be taken out alive

~Fight (Icon For Hire)

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Ed sobbed as his father started to disintegrate.

Within ten seconds, there was nothing left for Edward to hold on to. He took a deep, shaky breath.

And screamed.

He sprang forward, the agonizing pain in his body temporarily forgotten, and attacked Father with everything he had. His alchemy exploded around his as the earth reshaped and slammed towards the Homunculus, who deflected it easily. Somehow, killing Hohenheim had made the bastard stronger, as though he'd stolen what little energy Hohenheim's Philosopher's Stone possessed and channeled it into himself. Reaching this realisation only deepened Edward's wrath, and Father was the sole receiver of it.

Ed had to flip to the side in order to avoid a spear of earth that Father had flung towards him, and he almost collapsed from the effort. He regained his balance quickly though, and launched forward with another attack.

They battled like this for some time, each trying to wait the other out and see who would run out of energy first. They continued to throw wave after wave of offensive and defensive alchemy, going round in figurative and literal circles, trying to get the other to fall. But after some time, Ed noticed that Father's attacks were getting stronger.

How can he be getting stronger? He thought desperately, as he threw himself backwards to avoid being impaled. It doesn't make sense!

He clapped his hands and slammed them to the ground, creating an enormous fist from the earth and sent it hurtling towards Father, who sent up his own cone of earth to intercept. Their products of alchemy collided and Edward's stone fist shattered, while Father's cone continued to propel itself toward him.

He's not getting stronger, Edward realised, dread filling him as he narrowly missed being gutted.

I'm getting weaker!

Panic began to fill him as he realised that his injuries were taking too heavy a toll on him. He was too exhausted and he was losing too much blood to continue on for much longer. Hell, it was in miracle in and of itself that he'd lasted this long, Ed realised. He had to find some way to finish this, and quickly, or he was going to die.

He had to kill Father first.

It startled him slightly that he'd reached that point, but after what Father had just done, and after everything he'd ever done, Ed knew that it was the only choice. The only option. The only way to protect the people of Amestris, Hell, the whole world, even, was to get rid of Father before he could inflict any more harm.

Ed gasped as a pillar of earth scraped the side of his good arm, and he staggered sideways. Dammit, he was losing. He needed backup. In his condition, he knew that there was no way he could successfully defeat Father. Not on his own. He needed help.

Goddammit, he need Mustang and Hawkeye and Havoc. He needed them to wake up and help him!

And almost as if on cue, Edward heard a gun being cocked behind him.