Fallen Angel

We ran back into the room where the alchemic transition had occured, and as I expected, Envy was gone. The portal remained open, so we could still jump through. Surprisingly, Al was still here, inside his tube. "Al!" Ed called, running to go and get his brother. I gripped the gun tightly in my hand.

 

My time to shine....to be the hero....

 

My stomach churned, and I covered my mouth. I dropped the gun and fell to my knees. As I gagged, I could see out of the corner of my eye that Ed was having a hard time finding a way to get his brother down. I got sick, and once I was done, I walked over to Ed. "Is there anyway to get him down?" I asked. Ed examined the tube completely, and then shrugged. "I have no idea. Do you see anything?" he asked. I shook my head. Handing the gun to Ed, I cupped my hands over my mouth. "Al! Can you hear me? Are you alright?" I asked. Al moved over to the glass and pressed his hands against it. "Koda? Nii-San? Get me out of here!" he called. I was initially surprised to find that he hadn't known we were here. As soon as Ed handed me back my gun, he called up to Al. "Do you see a way to get down?" he asked. Al moved around his tube, not even bothering to stand up. "No," he replied sullenly. I was calculating the tube and the distance below it. If Al were to suddenly fall, then he'd surely die. Envy and Al were at the same height, and so this shows that if Hohenheim died because of a fall, Al surely would too. But then again, Hohenheim had been inside Envy's mouth for who knows how long. What to do? Would Al be okay if one of us caught him? There had to be some way to bust open the glass. But what? I scanned the room for a lever or a switch.

 

As expected, nothing turned up.

 

That's when it hit me. "Al!" I called, "Duck and cover your head!" I said. Al looked down as far as he could see. "W-Why? Koda, what are you planning?" he asked nervously. "Yeah Koda, what are you planning?" Ed asked right after Al. I fingered the side of the gun. "I'm going to shoot the glass. If one of us catches Al when he falls, he most likely will be okay. So Ed, position yourself under the tube. When Al falls, catch him. Can you do that?" I asked. Ed shook his head. "Koda, you make it sound so easy. There's no possible way to calculate the way Al will fall. If I miss, the fall will kill him. I don't want to risk it," he said.

 

"Then you think of something better."

"Well..."

"See Ed? Trust me for once."

"Koda, I..."

"Please."

 

He stood there for a minute, then looked down at his AutoMail. Suddenly, something came over me, and I grabbed it.

 

His hand.

 

"You have to trust me Edward! I've grown up! I'm no longer that meek little girl you were friends with in Resembool. I'm a big girl now! I know how to do things!" I protested, jerking his hand gently. He seemed stunned by my sudden outburst. So was I. I let go of his hand. "Now please just trust me," was how I left that. He stared at me for a second, and maybe it was the way his eyes shut that I knew something was wrong. He turned away from me, and stood there, looking up at Al. "Okay," he said, nearly whispering. "Ed?" I asked, but he didn't answer. When he did turn around, he tried to hide it, but nothing could hide the one solemn tear that was sliding down his face.

 

Ed was crying.

 

Wiping his eyes, he nodded. "Okay..shoot," he said. Guilt tugged at the tissues of my heart. "Ed...I..." I began, then choked it down. I nodded, then aimed the gun at the glass. "Are you ducked?" I called to Al. "Mmhmm," he said loud enough to be heard. When I sure the gun was far away from shooting Al in the head, I focused my attention and shot.

 

Right through the glass.

 

The shot didn't seem so loud this time, and the glass made a crystal clear breaking sound. The glass cracked loudly, and I could see that one side was close to caving in. "Here goes another shot!" I called, and with that I shot the bullet right into the hole again. The crack got bigger, and the glass was starting to fall. Ed dodged back so it wouldn't cut his skin. Al was making wimpering sounds. "P-Please! Just hurry!" he called. Finally, I shot one more time under the hole, and the whole tube caved. Al was sliding out of the side, and this was where Ed tensed up. "Catch him!" I called. Al screamed as he fell, and I shut my eyes.