Chapter Text
Things had settled, and they finally had a moment to breathe. But of course, it didn’t last long. The walls started shaking and shifting, and wouldn’t it just be their luck - the damn walls were going down. They hadn’t even seen doors.
“Time to go,” Roy says, breaking them from their disbelieving stupor. Sword still held, he grabbed Ed’s hand, who quickly grabbed Al’s and the three took off down the quickly closing caverns.
Al trips as they run, stumbling but staying upright, but he loses his grip on the book and it slides into the weird spirit goo.
Ed skids to a halt and jerks his hand, staring at Al in disbelief, “You’ve lost the book?!” The other doesn’t answer, just grabs his brother’s hand while Roy grabs the other and they continue running.
They're all going at the same rate, and quickly at that. It doesn’t take long for them to have to crouch. Then the caverns jerk once more and sand starts to fill the caverns. They pick up their pace, passing the room filled with gold without even a second glance. They silently lament the history, while Roy laments the riches he wasn’t even really thinking about.
They didn’t really expect to run in to Kimblee again. Ed and Al don’t stop to give him a second look, just hurry through the rapidly closing door, the largest yet. It’d be so easy to get stuck and squashed underneath it. Roy does, though. He makes it through the door and holds his hand for the other to grab, but it’s no use. They were closing too quickly, and Kimblee was too greedy. The gold would be his downfall. At least he would be stuck with what he loved the most.
“Goodbye, Kimblee.” Roy utters, pushing back to his feet to continue their escape. He’d drink to the dead after he made it out alive.
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The city just collapses as they run, the ruins crumbling and cracking around them, threatening to land. The soft sands beneath them get softer as it all starts to sink down into the depths of the earth. It’s like running on waves it’s so unsteady, but they have a hold of each other, and they’re making it out of this.
The moment they make it to the camels they stop, the sands are solid beneath them. They turn to look at the city and watch as it all sinks down, down, down below the sands of time.
Then Al screams. Ed and Roy jerk, turning quickly, ready to fight down whoever dared scare Alphonse.
It was Alai and Nikko, covered in dust but smiling. Al makes a sound of delight and throws himself at Nikko, hugging the man within an inch of his life.
“You’ve earned the respect of me and my people.” Alai’s voice was soft, the strain that they had put upon him gone, leaving a much happier, less dire young man in his place.
“Ah, well it was nothing.” Roy was a little more breathless than he wanted to admit, his heart a little fuller than he ever would at seeing them both alive.
Alai gave a small smile, a rare blessing, the rain in a drought, “May the Gods smile upon you always.”
“And yourself.” Nikko cuts him a sideways grin.
Roy feels him mimicking the look, “Stay outta trouble.”
They watch as Alai pulls himself up onto his own camel, giving the four a wave as he rides off.
“He’s just...leaving us here.” Roy says, not quite disbelief, but close.
“Ah well, I guess we go home empty handed,” Nikko jokes, not truly meaning it.
Roy casts a glance at Edward, who's already looking back, “I wouldn’t say that.”
Al laughs, his smile and tone fond, “Oh, please.”
Nikko joins the laugh, his fondness more tired. He shakes his head and helps Al onto his camel as Roy does the same for Ed, but join’s the blonde behind him.
The two share a kiss while Nikko and Al’s heads are turned. Ed’s smile like the sun, his own fondness shining through his eyes.
The four start their ride back home, the sun setting behind the dunes painting the sky in orange and magenta, a glint of gold shining from their camelbags in the last dying light.