The despair starts to press in, snuffing out all of the hope he'd had at the start of all this. SG-1 finally show up, with General Hammond in tow, and all of them freeze when they see Edward kneeling on the floor with his brother's lifeless body clutched against him. When Edward sees them, an uncontrollable rage boils up inside him, and he turns his head to face them, screaming, "Where the fuck have you guys been?!"
"Ed—" Daniel starts to say, before Edward cuts him off.
"You promised me you'd protect him!" Edward roars at his former apprentice. "One of your teams came back through infested with Goa'uld parasites! They killed my brother! AND YOU WEREN'T HERE!" The despair starts to overwhelm the anger once more and he slumps a little, reaching a shaking hand for the Zat he dropped and picking it up. For a moment it seems like he might turn it on SG-1... but then he turns the muzzle to press against the side of his neck.
"No!" Sam cries. "Ed, don't, please!"
"There's nothing left!" Edward half-screams, half-sobs. "My Soulmate is dead, and I will never be whole again!" He's still holding Alphonse against him, and as he turns away from SG-1, he lowers his head so that his forehead is resting against Alphonse's for a moment. "I'm sorry, Al..." he whispers. "I'll be with you soon..." Then he closes his eyes, lets the last of his tears fall...
And then, just as he's about to squeeze the trigger... there's Al's voice, in his mind, screaming at him. BROTHER! STOP!
He freezes. "Al...?"
That's not me, Ed! Al's voice says, and it's loud and clear, not faint like it was the last time Ed heard it. This isn't real!
And with that... Ed can feel the Bond again; he lets go of the false Al's body and drops the Zat. That bonfire of hope flares up again. "This isn't real..." he says, quiet at first. Then he repeats it, voice louder and angrier. "None of this is real." He rises to his feet and locks eyes with Daniel and Sam. "And you are not my apprentices!"
((Gaaaah, frelling bleedover... Also, heads up: I have a concert to attend this evening, so I'm only going to be able to keep threading until about 6:30 PM CST. I have no idea how long the concert's going to last, so assume I won't be back until tomorrow morning. >.>))
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"Ed—" Daniel starts to say, before Edward cuts him off.
"You promised me you'd protect him!" Edward roars at his former apprentice. "One of your teams came back through infested with Goa'uld parasites! They killed my brother! AND YOU WEREN'T HERE!" The despair starts to overwhelm the anger once more and he slumps a little, reaching a shaking hand for the Zat he dropped and picking it up. For a moment it seems like he might turn it on SG-1... but then he turns the muzzle to press against the side of his neck.
"No!" Sam cries. "Ed, don't, please!"
"There's nothing left!" Edward half-screams, half-sobs. "My Soulmate is dead, and I will never be whole again!" He's still holding Alphonse against him, and as he turns away from SG-1, he lowers his head so that his forehead is resting against Alphonse's for a moment. "I'm sorry, Al..." he whispers. "I'll be with you soon..." Then he closes his eyes, lets the last of his tears fall...
And then, just as he's about to squeeze the trigger... there's Al's voice, in his mind, screaming at him. BROTHER! STOP!
He freezes. "Al...?"
That's not me, Ed! Al's voice says, and it's loud and clear, not faint like it was the last time Ed heard it. This isn't real!
And with that... Ed can feel the Bond again; he lets go of the false Al's body and drops the Zat. That bonfire of hope flares up again. "This isn't real..." he says, quiet at first. Then he repeats it, voice louder and angrier. "None of this is real." He rises to his feet and locks eyes with Daniel and Sam. "And you are not my apprentices!"
((Gaaaah, frelling bleedover... Also, heads up: I have a concert to attend this evening, so I'm only going to be able to keep threading until about 6:30 PM CST. I have no idea how long the concert's going to last, so assume I won't be back until tomorrow morning. >.>))