14 Chapter 14: Shattered Will

"I-I-I t-told you! I-it was me!" Cedra screamed as blood continued to come out of her wounds. Raeloph looked at her.

"You couldn't of come up with that plan alone, you don't know jiyomu, and that note directly mentioned Jiyomu, someone had to help you!" Raeloph yelled. Alphonse looked up.

"Please... Stop, she... She is not me! She cannot handle something like that!" Alphonse yelled. Raeloph looked to Alphonse.

"I know, either she dies before I get my information, or she dies after, doesn't matter to me." Raeloph said. Cedra looked up as her eyes teared up even more than before.

"Brother... Please... Live on...!" Cedra yelled. Raeloph looked back to Cedra.

"Tell me, who helped you!?" Raeloph yelled even angrier than before. Cedra shook her head.

"I will not tell you!" She yelled and spit into Raeloph's face.

"All of you, take a knife and cut her appendages! Start small!" Raeloph yelled to Alphonse's brothers, all seven of them. They looked at each other unsure of what to do. "Unless you want a worse fate than her!" Raeloph yelled angrily. six of the seven, Elmer included, grabbed knives. "Henmer, what are you doing!? I told you to do something." Raeloph yelled.

"I won't! I won't torture my own siblings out of fear!" Henmer yelled as he took a step back subconsciously. Raeloph walked to him, then grabbed the side of Henmer's face and smashed it into the wall. "This won't make me do anything, everyday Alphonse goes through worse, if he can handle something worse, then I can handle this!" Henmer yelled.

Alphonse looked around the room and saw everything that was going on, Elmer, Kinvik, Yaiko, Olliza, Xiao, and Kenlen, were cutting Cedra as she screamed and Henmer was trying to withstand something he knew he couldn't withstand. As a feeling of hopelessness started to set, Alphonse's eyes began to lose their light, as if his soul had died. Tears began to form in Alphonse's eyes.

Elmer looked back at Alphonse and immediately dropped his knife. Raeloph looked away from Henmer "what are you doing!? Pick up that and continue!" Raeloph yelled. Elmer picked the knife back up, but couldn't continue. Raeloph had already looked back to Henmer to continue and didn't notice Elmer's disregard for orders.

Elmer looked to Cedra and noticed she was limp. "Is... She dead?" Elmer asked subconsciously. The other five boys looked at Cedra and realized she stopped crying and screaming. At this point her left arm had been cut down to her elbow, her left leg was cut near half up the thigh, her right leg was cut with a cleaver, leaving it cut in half and her right arm was nearly gone. Blood stopped coming out the same way a few moments ago, but no one noticed because of their fear.

Alphonse looked up and tears began to fall from his face faster than before. "Why...?" Alphonse asked as he began to sink further into despair. Elmer looked away from Alphonse.

"I... I... I have... No excuse..." Elmer said quietly, though Alphonse could hear it just fine. Elmer fell to his knees in realization of his actions. Alphonse's other brothers had done a similar action, all of them except Henmer who refused to harm his sister.

'How can I... Cedra... Why did you ask me such a request?" Alphonse thought to himself. 'Live on? The only reason I kept myself alive was to ensure Raeloph didn't harm you... Why? Why? Why?" Alphonse asked himself over and over.

"Al... I..." Kenlen started but stopped just as fast as he looked at his hands. Henmer passed out with blood all over his face as Raeloph looked back.

"So, she didn't cough up any extra information? I'll have to assume it was you, Henmer since you knew Jiyomu, where he lived and didn't do as I said." Raeloph stopped as he remembered that Henmer was passed out. "Well, I want each of you to remember that traitors die." He said to each of his sons. He looked to Alphonse. "Your the way you betrayed us is special, you lied to protect a traitor of this family, I won't kill you, instead I'll throw you into the temperature chamber." Raeloph said.

Alphonse was released from his chains and brought out of the dojo and thrown into the temperature chamber in the forge room. Immediately the heat and cold in the room started rising drastically. 'If I die, should I... No... I would betray her wish..." Alphonse thought to himself as his vision faded to black.

When Alphonse woke up, he was in bed, being healed by his mother as she cried. Alphonse looked away, ashamed he couldn't stop Cedra's death. "Alphonse... It wasn't... She wouldn't blame you... You couldn't of..." Edrit tried to comfort Alphonse but couldn't find the words while she was crying. Alphonse was already mostly healed and sat up. Tears began to form in his eyes.

"That is... Not the problem... I could not... Protect..." Alphonse said as he began to cry. "I am... A failure as... A brother..." Alphonse said between breaths. "I... I promised... I did... But I..." Alphonse continued to say fragmented sentences similar to this as he hugged his mother.

(Third moon, Third day, 457 Lu.)

Alphonse was released from training for the day, as it is his birthday, though that's the closest to a present he has ever gotten on his birthday. "Alphonse has grown even more silent than he used to be, it can't be good for him..." Aila said as she sighed.

"With what happened, and what day it is... Well, it's understandable.." Linrit said to Aila.

"yeah..." Aila responded weakly. "I want to do something for him... But we would have to ask father..." Aila said.

"We shouldn't... He would become even sadder, she isn't here, and whenever we would do something for him, well, you know..." Linrit said softly.

"That's true..." Aila weakly responded. "I just don't like to see him like that..." Aila finished as she walked up the stairs.